Ammonite and Raku Firing

Today was a gorgeous sunny day, and a very enjoyable raku firing.  I finally fired my big ammonite which I have been saving for a few months now.  But first we fired some of my smaller pieces.

This one was going to be a vase, thrown in two parts, and assembled :

But I didn't have enough pieces for the raku firing, so I finished them as two separate pieces :

I was very pleased with the little beaker shaped piece, which is unglazed black, with the frog glazed in Red Bronze Copper Lustre, which thankfully turned green.

The vase is Oxblood at the top, in the textured area.  In the lower part, I was debating whether to leave it unglazed (black), or to use the MultiColor Copper Sand, which is usually a very matte, gritty finish, with some hints of iridescent colors in it.  But today it decided to become a shiny copper.  Dang.  I'm not sure I like it yet, when I was trying for a gritty ultra-matte finish.

I also finished my snail shell.  It is Oxblood, Richard's Raku (clear crackle) over yellow underglaze, and the Richard's Raku glaze.  But funny enough, over the Columbia Buff w/ Grog clay, it turned out a flesh / pink color.  And even though I brushed two or three coats, I didn't seem to get it thick enough to get any crackle.  Overall, I am still pleased with this result, and the fine black lines I was able to achieve between the colors.

Finally, we fired the monster ammonite.  I had finished most of it in Multicolor Copper Sand, trying for a rough texture, and the cut / polished part of it in Oxblood and unglazed black.  But I was beginning to worry whether I would get a shiny copper ammonite.  I guess that could have been okay too, but just not what I was hoping to achieve today.

Here it is, out of the firing, getting doused with cold water:

... and sitting on the table in the sunshine :

It turned out partially a matte greenish / blackish color, and partially a shiny copper.  The red and black turned out nicely.  Although looking at it now, an iridescent finish there would have been okay also.  Maybe for the next one.  As I think there will be more in my future, even if these are very time consuming.  I am still very intrigued by this shape, and hope to explore it more.

As always, the raku didn't disappoint in terms of drama.  Heat and flames and smoke (it would be even more dramatic if I wasn't too lazy to crop my photos before uploading them) :

As always, the class was fully of inspiration, and it was fun to see the diversity of pieces :

Some of my favorites today were the silver birch vases.  They don't show well in this photo, but they were very knarly and natural, and the whites and blacks were wonderfully contrasted.

Perhaps this is a better photo:

This was also a delightful little piece, so refined in comparison (with the squished pots also, that is fun) :

Here are my four pieces again, taken inside, before bringing them home :

I spent some time tonight adding wires for hanging my 3 ammonites and 1 snail shell.  If all goes well, I'll find some time to hang them on my office wall at work.  I've been thinking of it for some time now.  I'll leave a spot for the one which is still on student display.

I also had a chance to pick up two mugs which came out of the gas kiln.  But I'll need to take photos and post those another day.