Raku Firing at School in an Olympic 18" Natural Gas Kiln

This video is a video I shot to demonstrate and explain the raku firing process I use when firing the raku pots for my students at Mason High School in Ohio. I shot this as an informational video for my colleagues who will be teaching the raku lessons with me and also in a few years after I retire!
Things I cover that are essential:
Keep FIRE SAFETY EQUIPMENT CLOSE AT HAND! You will see a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall near the kiln.
All pots should be dryfooted (no glaze on bottom)
My kiln is natural gas, and gets to temperature in 20-30 minutes. For delicate pots, I preheat the pieces before cranking up the flame to full force
I use sacrificial bisque patties under the pots to protect the shelves
PULL LONG HAIR BACK!!! (I keep mine up in my hat during this because it is cold outside!
Flame should be a blue flame with yellow tips. This is the cleanest flame that burns hotter.
Use protective raku gloves
Use only non-noxious smoke producing reduction materials, don’t use plywood dust, treated wood dust, plastics, etc as the fumes produced could be dangerous. I use only straight woodchips, sawdust, leaves, or paper
When dousing in water, be sure to keep the opening of the pot facing upward to prevent pressure build up
Appropriate clothing and footwear are a must for protection from all involved participants.
All pieces get scrubbed well to remove the messy soot
I use metal containers for reduction
I keep a bucket of water next to the reduction chambers to douse and stop the reduction.
Soft glazes can get marred when placing in the woodchips. Try to allow the coppers especially cool a bit closer to darker red - slightly beyond red-orange before picking up.
My favorite pottery supplier is my local one:
I recommend Cornell Studio Supply in Dayton, Ohio
8290 N Dixie Drive
Dayton, Ohio 45414
Fax: [phone]
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]
cornellstudios...
Feel free to call- they are super-helpful! Tell Erin or Lynn I sent you!!
Check out my Amazon Influencer Store where I have recommendations for some of my favorite tools and products many of which I use in my videos- which are available on Amazon. www.amazon.com...
Check out this link to a live Googledoc I continually update with lots of my favorite tools on Amazon using my associate links! (also some non-amazon suggestions on here!)
docs.google.co...
Please note my Amazon Associate links do not cost more for you to use, but they do give me a small financial benefit when you use them.
In this video, we made our pots out of the Standard Raku Body (259), a nice midrange firing stoneware - yet heavily grogged to withstand the raku firing process.
I am a public high school ceramics teacher at William Mason High School in Mason, Ohio. (Mason is currently the largest high school in Ohio!) As a potter, I have been working in clay for over 30 years, and I have been teaching for over 28 years, the past 20 have been specifically teaching high school ceramics. I love what I do! I have my own studio in my home basement, where I work on my personal pottery for my Etsy site; www.etsy.com/s...
I started my RUclips channel to make videos to help my students if they are absent and miss a demo, or if they would like to explore more advanced techniques independently. I have been amazed to reach such a wider audience than my own students!
Please subscribe to my channel if you would like to receive channel updates, or would like to learn more about clay and studio processes!