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“Nouveau Jars,” each 13 in. (33 cm) in height. All are stoneware with kyanite added for thermal shock resistance, with Riggs Terra Sigillata, bisque fired to Cone 07–06, then refired and removed from the kiln at Cone 015 for horsehair application.
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March 26, 2007
The Advantages of Horsehair Raku
by Bob Hasselle | Read Comments (20)
Sometimes I think the university system needs to be geared more toward the needs of people in the crafts. After the third or fourth diatribe in art history class on the arcana of various stages of the Cubist styles of Picasso and Braque, it occurred to me that maybe there should be an art history class on the crafts movement. As I see it, the class would start with William Morris (the elder) and the reaction to the Great Exposition of manufactured goods at the Crystal Palace in London. This would lead to the subsequent founding of the English Arts and Crafts Movement, which was the beginning of the modern [Western] interest in crafts. The course would then proceed through Art Nouveau, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School, the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany, and the American art potteries such as Rookwood and Newcomb. After touching on the California Arts and Craft Movement and Art Deco, the course would end with the work of William Morris (the younger), one of the greatest glass blowers of our time. Morris has been a great inspiration to me in my current horsehair raku line.
I first started this line of work while creating porcelain and redware torsos decorated with tattoos of birds and animals. None of these works had the look that I was after, however. The commercial look of clear glaze over red and white clay seemed to contradict the Neolithic imagery. So, I set them aside for about a year. Later I discovered the horsehair process, which gave them the overall look and surface patina that made them come alive for me.
In my work, I try to combine well-thought-out vessel shapes with very simplified sculptures of birds and animals reduced almost to gesture drawings in three dimensions. These sculptures are often wire cut from a block of clay to approximate dimensions. I then carve away and add clay until I get what I want. The finish can be attained with a hard-paste wax (like Trewax) or sprayed on with polyurethane varnish. This can be tricky, because you don’t want it to run.
One’s choice of media has to do not only with how to do it, but why to do it. All kinds of pit and raku firing appeal to me, but if you want color control and a certain amount of compositional control, the horsehair raku process has its advantages. With this control, you can concentrate on the imagery and not worry whether that copper blush or carbon deposit will occur where you want it to.
Another aspect of the “why to do it” is the creation of a coherent line of work that may start off being derivative but ultimately becomes your own. This process happens more effectively when you pay attention to your personal ideas and where they are leading you, and to the input you are receiving from the medium.
The Horsehair Process
Applying horsehair is not a complicated process. Although I call my pots raku, because it is the category that fits best, they do not require the same level of heat. I take them out of the kiln at 1500°F (815°C) by my pyrometer, which may not be accurate. I remove them when they are starting to glow inside of the pot. It is important to remember that you are not trying to melt glaze, only horsehair. The heat will determine the boldness of the black squiggles left by the horsehair. I like a bold line and darker effect. The hair from the tail of a horse is superior to the mane hair, because it is longer and more coarse.
Another tip for horsehair raku is to put some sawdust or other combustible under the bottom of the pot during firing. The temperature of the bottom of the pot is often not hot enough to ignite material after it comes out of the kiln. To get the brown to orange colors, the pot is sprayed with ferric chloride after the horsehair is applied.
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Recipe |
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I use underglazes for color before the bisque but after applying the terra sigillata. Terra sigillata allows one to polish the vessel to a near reflective surface. I recommend a recipe from Linda and Charlie Riggs. The quality of their work is a great standard to emulate |
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Riggs Terra Sigillata |
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Water |
3-1/2 gallons |
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Sodium Silicate |
1 tbsp. |
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Soda Ash |
1 tbsp. |
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XX Saggar Clay |
6,804 grams |
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Mix ingredients and wait one day. Siphon off and use only the first 1Z\x gallons. |