Joyful Ceramic Bird – Raku Fired Turquoise
Little ceramic bird sculptures made to bring you joy!
I usually make these little guys outdoors in the fresh air – I can enjoy watching the birds – who are watching me making birds! It’s truly my happy place and I hope to pass on the love and joy to you through them.
Designed to be held and loved, each bird starts as a lump of clay which I shape and form by hand.
Size – Approx 6-7cm tall
Material – Stoneware clay, glaze. Stamped underneath with my logo.
Free UK delivery – Please allow 5 working days. International delivery will take longer but is tracked. Cost of international shipping will be added at the checkout.
VAT – Price includes VAT at 20% in applicable countries.
How they’re made
Mud, glorious mud! well, professional-grade stoneware clay from the UK to be precise.
Out of the bag the clay needs, “wedging,” to remove any air trapped that can later cause problems during firing. Wedging is physical and theraputic!
Once the clay is prepared, I create two identical spheres before pinching each into a bowl shape.
The two bowls are then scored and joined before being left to dry a little.
Once the hollow sphere is a little firmer, I then create the bird shape, with the beak and the eyes. I create a hole in the base so the air can escape (solid structures are more likely to blow up during firing as any moisture left tries to escape.)
I’ll then wait a little before refining the surface further.
Next is the bisque firing. Once I have enough pieces to fill the kiln I will set the kiln off on a progressive heating programme to reach 1000°C.
Once cooled I’m able to apply speciality raku glazes to them.
I place them in the raku kiln and bring the temperature of the kiln up rapidly using a propane-powered torch. Once they reach about 900°C they are taken out of the kiln while they’re red hot and placed into a metal container filled with combustible material. The lid is then put on and they’re allowed to reduce for about 20 minutes. I then take them out of the container and place them into another metal container filled with water. This stops the process. They then need the carbon scrubbing off to reveal the colours beneath.
Then it’s quality check time, and if I’m happy with them, they get a stamp on their bottom, photographed and added to the website for their new owners to adopt them.
