Microwave Raku Workshop overview:

Friday Night Meet the Artist 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.

• Dinner 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. will be provided by the Georgia Clay Council.

• Desserts are potluck. 

• 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Presentation and questions for the artist.

Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 5 p.m.

• We will start off with a quick overview of what Microwave Raku is. 

• Then we will go into detail about what type of items we will be making and what things we need to keep in mind for choosing what to make for a micro raku. 

• We will discuss using wire and what types as well as firing wire safely in the microwave kiln. 

• I will go over some tips and tricks to make jewelry more comfortable for the wearer as well as look more professionally finished. 

• We’ll make several pieces of jewelry that we will be raku firing the next day.

• I will demonstrate throwing miniature pots, making ceramic rattles, and making hanging ornaments, as alternatives for jewelry.   

• We will discuss other types of clay that would be appropriate for this method and I will explain in detail why I started firing my clay unglazed to full vitrification prior to Raku. 

  • Because this is unique to my method, I will explain how that affects the glaze application and what I do to mitigate those issues. 

• We will go over equipment and how to acquire those things and how to set up for a successful microwave raku, including things to be aware of for ideal location and conditions. 

  • We will go over safety and how to prepare for the best results. 

• I will do a demo of a complete firing for you on the first day, and we can save some time for any questions. 

• We will discuss glazing and the types of commercial glazes that are available. 

  • If it’s something that the group is interested in, we can go into making your own raku glazes and some sources for those recipes (as well as the recipe sheet that I will provide). 

  • We can also talk a little bit about glaze chemistry and what about the specific chemistry causes raku glazes to react the way they do.  

Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. (We often end earlier because everyone is tired after learning so much! This will depend on how the firings go.)

• On Sunday, we will be going over glaze applications and what does and does not create the best results. 

  • We’ll talk about layering glazes and using underglazes in Raku as well as using glazes that are not specifically made for Raku but will also work for Raku. 

  • Everyone can glaze the pieces that they made the day before and get them prepared for firing. 

• We will go in depth again about how the microwave kiln should look at each stage of the firing process and how to know when the firing is ready to pull. 

• We will discuss the different types of combustible materials that create different results and what is most commonly used. 

• I will also cover using the Microwave Kiln for Obvara and Horse Hair firings in addition to traditional Western Raku glaze firing.  

• Most of the day will be spent firing your own pieces that you have made and during that we will be practicing everything we have covered. 

• Finally at the end of the day, we will be going over how to clean ceramic pieces after the Raku firing and attaching any jewelry hardware. 

Participants will not need to prepare or bring anything for the workshop. Denise will be walking us through the process and we’ll be doing everything from wet clay to finished pieces during this session. 

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Participants can bring some things that may be helpful: 

• Texture tools or items or stamps 

• Small clay/cookie cutters (no larger than 2 inches)

• Clay hand tools that you prefer to use 

• Glazing brushes in various sizes 

• If you happen to have a heat gun, that would cut down on sharing the few that I have. 

• If you’d like to bring your own pieces already made to raku fire, they would need to be fully vitrified and unglazed. So if it’s a cone 5 clay, rather than bisque, it should be fired at cone 5 and there’s no need to bisque separately. Dimensions should be no taller or wider than 3&1/2” or less. This size is with my kiln extension which I will be explaining in depth during the presentation. The extension requires a separate microwave kiln to be altered and added between the lid and the base. That’s something that I have not seen anyone else do, but it is quite possible and very effective. The height without the extension would need to be less than 2 inches, so even though 3&1/2” seems really restrictive on size, keep in mind that it would be less with any other demonstrating artist. 

If you know you would like to have your own microwave raku setup, you can order a setup for the workshop. This setup will be used by the participants during the workshop. The setup would need to be ordered and paid for by October 20th so Denise can order everything needed. Payment can come to the GCC. 

A full kit will cost $200, which is approximately my cost (or slightly less than my cost), and having it used for the workshop will be exchanged for your convenience of avoiding shopping for everything individually. Purchase of kits is entirely optional and if you decide to do your own shopping, you will have a full supply list on your handout sheet. Each kit will include:

• 1- 1000 Watt Microwave 

• 1- Microwave Kiln

• 3- 1/2” kiln posts for stability 

• 1- Pair of Welding Gloves 

• 1- Reduction Chamber

• 1- Stainless Steel 12” Tweezers/Tongs

• 20- Kiln Papers

This will be everything you need for Microwave Raku in your own studio except for clay, glaze, and heat safe surface for reduction.