Naked Raku

In the end of January I have attended a Naked Raku workshop in Thomastown organised by Ceramics Ireland. I already was familiar with both Raku and Naked Raku but wanted to extend my knowledge in this field.

Naked Raku is a firing technique in which the pot is masked with the slip and then glazed and fired @ 1000 C then the kiln is opened and pots are transferred to the reduction chamber filled with sawdust, and covered to accommodate the reduction process.

The difference between the Raku and Naked Raku is that in the second process the glaze is pealed off after firing and the pot unglazed- Naked. It all seems quite confusing and a bit complicated but in fact it is very simple, fast and effective way of decorating ceramics. The only disadvantage is that the pot is porous and can be use only as decoration as it is not food safe. With time the smoke marks can get lighter which can be slowed down by applying oil or floor polish paste on pots.

Here are some photos - maybe they will make things easier to understand. I am missing few photos of the application stage - will add them as soon as I get a chance of taking them :)

1. The pieces will be black and white. The black is achieved by reduction and will appear in places that remain uncovered during firing. (Places without glaze, they can be masked out using masking tape or wax resist or simply by scratching through the glaze).

2. Apply slip in places that you want to be white.  Slip is used as a resist for glaze - it will stop the reduction and keep the surface white, it won't allow the glaze to stick to the surface and makes it possible to peal it off later. If you wont put glaze on top of the slip the surface will turn black. You can experiment with the grades of black/grey by trying out different thickness of the slip.

3. Apply Glaze on top of the slip to protect the white surface of the pot. Naked Raku works best on white clays - beautiful effects can be achieved on porcelain- on colour clays the contrast of the marks is not as dramatic and looks dull. If you apply glaze on part of the pot that was not covered with slip, it will stick to the pot - as in 'normal' Raku. In the workshop the pots covered with slip where put tho the kiln for 20 min to dry out before applying glaze.

4. Pack your Raku kiln and fire up to 1000 C then soak for 20 min and open the kiln and place the glowing pots in the reduction chamber filled with damp sawdust. Sprinkle more saw dust to increase the reduction - and increase the contrast of the black marks. Cover the chamber/ bin with the lid and wet newspapers.

5. Open the bin and start pealing the glaze - it will come of easily if you place the hot ceramics in water, it is important to submerge them completely to lower the risk of breakage as it can be a big thermal shock.

Final results.