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Old 2006-04-28, 10:22pm
Dawn >^..^<'s Avatar
Dawn >^..^< Dawn >^..^< is offline
Mmmmm....Raku
 
Join Date: Sep 03, 2005
Location: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
Posts: 1,473
Default The secrets of Raku Revealed

I've had quite a few people tell me lately that they just can't get any colors out of their Raku, and want to know what my secret is. Well I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone else.....LOL!
I went through tubs of raku frit before figuring it out, so I'll give you a few tips on what works for me. And if anyone else has any tips, please feel free to chime in. But first, a little raku eye candy to get you motivated......









Okay, in a nutshell, it's all about heating it up super hot then chilling it real quick. Try this ...... Make a very small black barrel. Roll it in #0 raku frit and melt it in. Let the bead cool until it looses it's glow then super heat it until it gets that "white orange" glow. Take out of the flame and gently marver it with a graphite or brass tool. You will notice the raku turns black. THIS IS A GOOD THING! Now encase the bead in clear. You will start to see the colors develope as the bead looses it's glow. And even more gorgeous colors will appear when it's cooled and you take your bead out of the kiln.

The same thing applies to beads that you don't plan on encasing, but you may have to experiment a bit to know how hot to go before chilling.

To do a "Rainbow Dot".....make a bead, add a dot of raku with stringer, heat it and flatten it with a graphite or metal tool of your choosing, let the bead cool slightly then just barely heat the dot again, as soon as you see the edges of the dot start to well up flatten it again. This is what makes that little rainbow pattern in the dot. Then apply a drop of clear over the raku dot and tada!....You've got a raku rainbow!

Now get off that computer and go DO some RAKU!

Edited to say....You really need to read through this entire thread. There's tons of beautiful photos and great advise from not only myself, but lots of other members as well. But if you want my most up-to-date explanation of Raku in a nutshell, go to post #405 on page number 14. As time has gone by, I'm starting to figure out how to better put into words what I need to say about Raku. Print it out....Read it...Have fun with it, and don't forget to post photos of your gorgeous beads!
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Last edited by Dawn >^..^<; 2008-01-26 at 11:02am.
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