The Raku Process
A Pot Is Placed Into The Kiln and heated
With roots in the Japan of the early 1500’s, a once-fired (bisque) pot is coated with glaze and placed into a kiln. The kiln is then heated
to about 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.
the pot is pulled from the kiln with tongs.
The entire vessel glows like red-hot coal and the glaze melts into a sheet of liquid glass. At this point the pot must endure the thermal shock of being pulled from the kiln with tongs.
cooler air outside the kiln assaults the glowing vessel
As the cooler air outside the kiln assaults the glowing vessel, the severe temperature change produces cracks in the glaze. These cracks are highly prized as characteristics of traditional raku pottery. They are the “proof marks”piece has survived this dramatic trial by fire.
the piece is then placed into a "reduction chamber"
Upon leaving the kiln the piece is placed into a container or “reduction chamber” filled with leaves, sawdust or a like carbon based material.
The oxygen starved surface sucks the resulting carbon into the cracks and unglazed areas producing the familiar blacks unique to raku.
The Survivors Are One of a Kind Works to be Prized
The survivors of this violent thermal nightmare have earned their stripes and take their place as one of a kind works to be prized.
