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Raku Firing - How Long Can I Wait?


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I have been creating lots of sculptures with some raku clay that I bought at a local gallery. Most of them are still wrapped to keep them from drying, but

I really need to get them hollowed out. It may be a month or two before I can fire them.

 

After they are dry, is there a time limit on how long they can sit there before I can no longer fire them? I mean, say a year goes by, can I still fire them?

 

It wont be a year, but you never know. I may find a piece thats been sitting around for long time.

 

I've seen some great raku sculptures, and I can't wait to get mine fired, but like I said it may be awhile.

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Doesn't matter. As the clay dries, the physical water evaporates and it gets drier and drier. At some point it is as dry as it can get without being fired (when the chemical water will get fired out of it). But it can sit there for however long you like. Only thing is... it is fragile. Better to bisque fire it and then let it sit so if it gets bumped or something, it doesn't break.

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Karen is correct, the clay doesn't change over time. I suspect that you might get more responses in the Studio part of this Forum. What do you consider raku clay? I guess I don't completely understand what constitutes a raku clay since I have always understood raku as a firing protocol. I have my favorite clays for raku and generally they are just a grogged clay such as one of the many sculpture mixes.

 

Regards,

Charles

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If you keep it a long time I would recommend keeping it in a stable weather environment ...

by that I mean somewhere it will not freeze then thaw, get damp again then re dry ... etc.

I think those things undermine the strength of the dry piece and firing could be the last straw ...

Ka boom!

 

 

Excellent points Chris. I am lucky to live in an environment where our annual average temperature range is from about 40 deg F to about 68 deg F. It never freezes and never gets hot so I forget what its like for many others.

 

 

Regards.

Charles

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I have been creating lots of sculptures with some raku clay that I bought at a local gallery. Most of them are still wrapped to keep them from drying, but

I really need to get them hollowed out. It may be a month or two before I can fire them.

 

After they are dry, is there a time limit on how long they can sit there before I can no longer fire them? I mean, say a year goes by, can I still fire them?

 

It wont be a year, but you never know. I may find a piece thats been sitting around for long time.

 

I've seen some great raku sculptures, and I can't wait to get mine fired, but like I said it may be awhile.

 

 

 

 

Oh Boy just keep them dry and above freezing. Get them fired!

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Yes, two weeks ago I would have said that waiting did not matter much ...

but then saw two very large pots explode within 15 minutes of being placed in a kiln that

was just warming up. Not mine thankfully!

 

These pots were kept in an unheated area in a changeable climate and I think they

just could not handle any more stress. They had frozen, thawed, been in high humidity ...

I think they would have been ok if they had been stored indoors, but who knows?

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