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Raku

Raku is a really special process – you never quite know what the results will be. All the items here started on the wheel and then were altered once leather hard. While there are elements of hand building, I always like to start with something thrown on the wheel.

I make raku items following ‘western style’ raku techniques. After an initial bisque firing in the electric kiln, pieces are glazed, dried and then fired outdoors in a gas kiln until the glazes have melted. At this point, the kiln is opened and the hot pieces are removed with tongs and placed in containers full of combustible materials like sawdust which immediately set alight. The burning pots are then covered, and left for a period of time, before being unearthed from the sawdust and dropped into water. The combination of the smoke, which blackens any unglazed parts of the pot, the reduction effect because there is a very limited oxygen supply in the containers and the sudden heat shock of removal from the kiln which causes the glaze to crackle, gives the distinctive raku effect.