RAKU

The term ‘Raku’ means ease, pleasure and enjoyment. With its roots in 15^th century Japan, Raku has spread throughout the West and was developed in its current form by Paul Soldner in the US. A number of potters have since experimented to produce some of the most interesting and gorgeous effects found in ceramics. Intensely hands on, it is sheer pleasure to experience the low-temperature, fast-firing process which involves removing glazed pottery from the kiln while at bright red heat and placing it into containers with combustible materials.

‘Naked’ raku

In this process, pots are burnished before they are bisque fired to create a soft, shiny surface. Sometime coloured slips are painted on and burnished create different effects. They are then dipped in a layer of liquid clay (slip), which once dried is then coved with another layer of special glaze.

The pot is placed in the RAKU kiln and fired to about 940 degrees Celsius, and then removed from the kiln and placed in a bin with newspapers. The bin is covered and allowed to stand to for around 10 mins. The piece is then removed and the layer of slip and glaze falls away like eggshell and a new pot is born with unique lines and marks where the smoke has penetrated through the cracks in the glaze.