• Do follow all directions given

• Don’t wear excessivel loose or baggy clothing

• Do wear long pants and long sleeves

• Don’t wear dangly jewelry

• Do tie back long hair

• Don’t wear open toe or open heel shoes

• Do take a good look at the set-up and make mental notes of

locations of safety water, hot spots and any road blocks

• Don’t stand in the way during the reduction process. Observe from a safe, out-of-the-way distance

Usually there is a vent on the opposite side of the kiln from the burner. When Bill Bracker designed his Raku kiln (which we still make, sell & use here), he chose to place the vent holes on the same side of the kiln as the burner port for safety. He had seen too many people walk too close to the kiln and get burned by the flame shooting out the vent holes. Placing them on the same side as the burner port diminishes the possibility of this type of burn, but it doesn’t guarantee absolute safety. Common sense, awareness of surroundings and communication are key in Raku Firing safely.

1. You will need to purchase a fire card.  This 4" Circle represents the footprint of your piece in the kiln.  If your piece is larger than this, you will need to purchase a second card for the extra space in the kiln.  Consider the old adage "tall and thin, fits right in  short and stout gets left out"
   1. Fire cards are assigned a one hour firing range.  This represents the anticipated start time window of the firing. Please keep in mind that you will need to also allow time to glaze your piece and for that glaze to dry.  
   2. Raku can be unpredictable and sometimes our best plans for firing times are "reinterpreted" by Mother Nature or some other special situation.  Please give us grace if firing times are running late, and we promise to return the favor if YOU are running late and miss your window.  
2. When you arrive, and check in, you will be given your official "Firing Card" (your digital download serves as a size guide for you, you don't need to bring it, we will have your reservation on file).  Your Firing Card will follow your piece throughout the firing.  
   1. The person who checks you in will verify the size of your piece and ask you two questions (answers will be recorded on your fire card):
      1. What was the bisque temperature of your piece?
      2. What type of clay body did you use?
3. Proceed to the glazing area and select the glazes you want to use.  
   1. Take a moment to write those down on your fire card for both your information and ours.
   2. Glaze your piece
   3. Be sure to wipe any excess glaze from the bottom of the piece and make sure it is clean and dry
   4. Bring your piece to the tables marked with firing circles, find the first open spot and place your piece ON TOP OF your fire card to dry.
4. When all the pieces for a firing are dry and ready to load (and the kiln is ready for the next firing), your name will be called and your piece will be loaded into the kiln.
   1. Be sure to take note of where it is being placed in the kiln. 
   2. If you have a preference of reduction material, please be sure to identify that on your card, we will do our best to get your piece into the right reduction chamber.
   3. Your fire card will then be placed in a bag kept on the back of the propane tank
5. When the glazes in the kiln are approaching maturity, the fire cards will be pulled out and names will be called.
6. Once your piece is in reduction, your card will be taken to the photography station to wait for your piece to finish it's reduction cooling and cleaning.
7. When the reduction chambers are open, your piece will be quenched in cold water and you will then need to clean it with a scrubbie pad to remove any non-combusted material and remove the top layer of smoke and soot.  
8. Rinse it and admire it, then bring it over for its picture.  
   
9. Post your piece on Instagram and tag us so we can re-post!

9:30am Bracker's opens for Small Business Saturday

10:00am Raku Check in begins, glazing tables open

11:00am Tentative first firing begins (pending having enough dry pieces to fire)

11:30am Tentative first firing in kiln 2

12:30-3:00 Firings continue

4:00 - Tentative firing completion

4:30 - Bracker's Closes

As always, we will mix up a batch of our own Crackle White Raku Glaze as well as the incredibly popular Crusty Lusty and Cindy's Prairie Fire from 2016.  We're also mixing up a few old favorites that probably haven't been seen at a Bracker Raku Event in some time. We will be doing a test firing of these at our November 15th Raku Demo and will finalize the list after that.  

• Robert Piepenburg's 50/50 Red Bronze Luster - A copper luster glaze that is quite beautiful, Under reducing atmosphere conditions, the result is a blood red.  In strong postfiring reduction, a bronze-like copper luster.
• Hall Rieger's Purple - One of Hal Riegger's signature glazes 
• Wayne Higby's Green - Multicolored glaze showing greens, blues and reds.  Fire to a high gloss for best results 
• Tom Buck Red Lustre #8 - Semi-matte Luster; when it's fired at approximately 1750ºF it yields reds and blues. At higher temperatures, it becomes glossier 
• Gold Raku - another gem from Robert Piepenburg.  A silver gold glaze that is very reliable. Do note this glaze contains silver nitrate, which is a soluble salt and will lose its strength when mixed in water and exposed to the light.