It was an excellent day at Yungaburra market on Saturday.  Perfect weather, picturesque market and happy people.  Welcome to Colin & Oliver on holiday from the UK – specifically here to purchase more Opal mugs – they said.   Yes - we remembered the 300 chickens.  Not as amusing was a couple operating a conservation stall who let their diesel Landcruiser run for an hour while they packed up.  We inhaled the fumes for half an hour after they left.   
Port Douglas was also lively this week and we appreciate the water truck doing its morning run.  National and international customers still scared witless of unloading their 'dirty laundry' at our airports to accommodate baggage weight restrictions. Tourism is not just about bums on seats and in beds. Scared to buy because they fly.     
It's been a busy September with 16 fires in the pottery - see our market calendar. This brings our firings to date to 1030.  Today we show you how to build a rubbish bin Raku Kiln & next week a post on loading your kiln.  

Ken Ison Pottery has four kilns; One electric and three gas. The raku kiln is only used a few times a year, while Sparky, Opal & Hercules are fired several times a month.  On the calendar you will see the firing schedules. 

The newest kiln is sparky with over 150 fires to date. Sparky is a workhorse and is fired several times a month. The automatic controller ensures it is not necessary to ride shotgun as with the gas kilns.  Sparky does all the bisque firing and low temperature glaze fires. 

1. ​Pottery scraps and shards should be gently vacuumed from the kiln prior to the next fire 
2. Keep shelves clean and coat with kiln wash when necessary 
3. Every so often clean shelves with a flat diamond stone on an angle grinder & re-coat with kiln wash
4. ​Do not place glazed items close to elements - use edge of kiln shelf as a guide.
5. Do not overhang shelves with pottery.  This can create a hot spot and damage the element. 
6. Glaze splatter also deteriorates elements.  This can be flicked off with a sharp knife - take care doing this as elements are brittle and can break.  They are expensive to replace.
7. Kilns with loose fibre construction should be coated with a fibre coating  as necessary.                                  eg:  Foseco ceramol.
8. Elements which come loose from a kiln wall can be propped up with nichrome wire pins or ceramic pins. 
9. Do not force elements into any position; they are fragile when fired and will break. ​

              

​The striking and vivid glazes on Ken’s raku pots make the metallic effect of traditional raku seem dull. Red, yellow and orange add liveliness to his unique shapes and designs.   See more Raku in the gallery
Here is how he made Fiddlesticks. 
MATERIAL
To make a raku pot, I blend 50/50 Keanes White Raku and Walkers #10 Stoneware clay and process it through a pugmill to mix the clay. This blend makes an excellent throwing clay and is easy to polish.


THROWING
Next, I throw the pot. The pot is polished on the wheel when the clay is leather hard using either a polished rock or small light bulb. The polishing continues at various stages during its drying time until the pot has a high sheen.
Note: if the pot is too dry when polishing it may scratch.

FIRE #1 BISQUE
It is now ready to bisque fire to 1000°/cone 06.  
After the bisque fire, I draw a design on the pot and use masking tape to mask the area not being glazed.

FIRE #2  GLAZE
I apply a commercial earthenware glaze and fire the pot to 1080°/cone 03  
After the glaze fire masking tape is again applied to the fired, glazed area followed by a slip to the exposed part of the pot. I prefer a naked finish which involves applying a thin layer of clay. The clay will craze during the raku fire.

FIRE #3 RAKU 
The next step is to fire the piece in a raku kiln 1020°/cone 05 
When fired the pot is removed from the raku kiln (I use Kevlar gloves and tongs to handle hot pottery)and placed on a hot shelf from thirty seconds to one minute. Using the tongs, I put it in a metal rubbish bin or pit containing sawdust shavings or mango leaves and strips of newspaper. Care needs to be taken as these items will fire up. A lid is placed on the bin to extinguish the flames and produce reduction effects. 
Now the pot is left in the bin for approximately 15 minutes before removing and lightly spraying with water which highlights the crazing in the slip. Set the pot aside to cool. 

FINISH
Now the work begins.
A good quality scourer and water is used to scrub the pot to remove all the loose carbon residue.
When the pot is dry, it is polished using neutral Nugget shoe polish and a soft cloth. 

and a brief overview of the site.                                                                                                                           
 On the:                                                                                                                                                                            

HOME page is our main menu and a calendar telling you where and when we are at the markets.
We rarely miss a market, but occasionally in the wet season we are unable to get through.
So: good idea to check the calendar for any cancellations. 

ABOUT is a brief bio about Ken and some early pottery samples.

GALLERY is split into three mini-galleries:  Raku  -  Opal   -  Teapots.  
With the exception of the Raku pieces,  pottery in the gallery already sold may be ordered. 
It will of course  be similar but different.   

The POTTERY showcases our range of domestic or functional ware.  All items in the pottery are available
for sale or  order in  the glaze of your choice.  Instead of cluttering the images you will find a price list for
all items on this page.

BLOG
 where you are now - and we look forward to posting articles on:
how it is made
@ the markets
pottery business
The posts on this site are based on what consistently works for us and will not be the  answer to everything. Everyone has their preferred way of doing things and we welcome suggestions on different methods if you prove they work.       

KILNS & WHEELS - (Pottery Kilns & Wheels Nth Qld)
This members page has information on wheels and kilns for potters, teachers, schools, and hobbyists. 
Here you can ask local potters and other members questions and hopefully find solutions to
​ any pottery queries you may have. SOMEONE is bound to have the answer.   
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