Orange, she said; the finals

Yesterday afternoon
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I decided to smoke fire my Orange Sea Bowl to see if I could knock back the rampant orange a bit
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Here goes…torching is the best bit.
And then it started to rain. A gale blew up. My garden chairs and table flew around the garden. In the dead of night,  crept out to the bin to weigh it down with bricks.
At first light…erm, well, at about ten this morning, I put my boots on and draped a coat over my pajamas, and
DSCF2802_edited DSCF2805_editedshe was still smoking hot…but I couldn’t resist getting her out of the smoke chamber.
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Phew! She survived! There are  a few hairline cracks, but then again that happens with most Raku goods, too. I will need to take a proper photograph so that I can put her up for sale on my website,  but I couldn’t resist publishing a quick snapshot for now.

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This is the way it looked before the smoke firing. Which one is the better?
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About Anna

I am a ceramic sculptor living on the South coast near London, England. My work is influenced by my experience of the earth as a living being and seeing how we are all connected with eachother and with the things that surround us. I create ceramic torsos using molochite clay which I often smokefire in galvanised dustbins. I also make House Gods to protect and amuse, and Fat Birds - little smokefired sculptures that tell the story about what it is like to be a fat bird at peace with its surroundings.
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8 Responses to Orange, she said; the finals

  1. Alastair says:

    I think I like the second last one, although the last one is good as well

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  2. Lynda says:

    I never knew you could do the Raku process on a glazed piece. (I dabbled in HS and College) I liked it before, but now think that the smoke effect softens the orange and brings it all together.

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  3. rthepotter says:

    I think I prefer smudgy, though it’s hard to tell without touching – and I presume you get a good whiff of smoke in it? That’s one of the things I like about the raku I make – however much they leave to be desired in other respects!

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    • Anna says:

      Thanks! The photos aren’t that good, the difference between before and after is greater than what is shown…and I do prefer the after, too, thank goodness! And yes, it reeks! I’ll add some black oxide on the shells, they are nice and crazed.

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  4. mississhippi says:

    The firing has added some nice depth to the orange – it is not longer that strong matt surface of brilliant orange. It sort of gives the surface some movement, like the fish are actually swimming through something otherworldly.

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