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Monday, June 24, 2013

Building a Raku Kiln: Part 1


 Yesterday was the perfect day to start building the new raku kiln.  A few months ago we had a little "incident" and the other raku kiln was destroyed.  Anyway, this gave Colin the opportunity to get creative and build a brand new one!

 The first thing Colin did was assemble a cart.  He wanted a more permanent kiln but it was going to be HEAVY so he needed a way to make it mobile.  He found a gardening cart with a 400 lbs capacity.

Once the cart was finished he started laying out the fire bricks around the tallest of my bead racks.  We needed to make certain it would fit.  He then disassembled the bricks and started laying out the bottom.  High-fire cement was used to keep all the fire bricks together.

This is about how far we (when I say "we" I mean Colin.  I just sat around eating watermelon and "supervising".) got yesterday.  He's going to add another layer of bricks inside for added insulation and he has to build the lid.

I'm hoping to get 2-3 raku firings in between now and August so that I can have some of this at Bead Fest...
I'll share more photos as this kiln gets finished up!

Diana P.
Suburban Girl Studio LLC
at

9 comments:

  1. Caron MichelleJune 24, 2013 at 5:22 PM

    Very kool - love following this process!

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  2. UnknownJune 24, 2013 at 7:37 PM

    How incredibly awesome! First I love love love that Colin is so supportive and handy and second I can not wait to see the rest that produces those utterly amazing pieces!

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  3. RebekahJune 25, 2013 at 1:45 AM

    Neat!! I love seeing the process - makes me appreciate even more all the work that goes into ceramics… and reminds me that one day I must try my hand at ceramics… it looks like so much fun! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. KristiBowmanDesignJune 25, 2013 at 7:41 AM

    That's quite an undertaking, Raku makes it well worth it. I look forward to seeing what beauties you produce with it!

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  5. Ema KilroyJune 25, 2013 at 10:09 AM

    I love to see the process. Your pieces are gorgeous!

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  6. JennyJune 25, 2013 at 5:26 PM

    If you build it they will come. To your house. foe a raku play date...

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  7. LindaJune 25, 2013 at 7:18 PM

    Can't wait to see your first goodies come out of the new kiln!!!

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  8. WendyJune 28, 2013 at 2:38 PM

    I read this post with fascination, having never considered you could build a kiln. Mind you, I've no idea what a Raku kiln is... I'm off to google it!

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  9. Jennifer CameronJune 29, 2013 at 7:29 PM

    That's really cool and it looks like you did a great job supervising!

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