Color Changing Rakus

Yesterday someone posted a question in a china collectors Facebook group about her Lakeshore Raku "Art of Fire" Marshall, and her thoughts that its color was changing. I, too, have a Raku Marshall, so I was very interested in reading the comments as well as checking out a link to an article about how Raku colors are not stable and do change with time. 

Then I pulled out my Raku piece. He did look different to me - duller and with less variation in his color. A suggestion had been made in the group that polishing the finish with a jewelry polishing cloth might restore some of the lustre, so I pulled out a soft cloth and tried that.

 Off side before polishing.

 Off side after polishing. It did look somewhat shinier to me.

 Near side before polishing.

 Near side after polishing. Some of the green/turquoise seems brighter.

The Lakeshore Rakus are really beautiful pieces.

 I especially love the variation in the colors on mine.

I couldn't work on mine too long as I had something else to get to right away but it did look like I was getting some promising results.

I'm interested in continuing to follow the thread and seeing what results other people are getting as they try the polishing cloth on their own Rakus.

I may even start taking periodic photos of mine to document any future changes.

While I really hope my model does not end up some dull muddy color as time goes on, I also enjoy this part of being a collector. Every so often we discover changes or see something we had not noticed before, and it becomes researched and documented in the hobby. (For example, shrinkies, oozies, chalkies, and even unusual deterioration in Western Horses.)

A Raku model whose color is changing is another of those challenges to observe and figure out.