Raku Workshop
There will be a Raku Workshop on Saturday July 18, tentatively scheduled to begin at 10:30a.
There is a mandatory orientation for anyone new to Raku on Saturday July 11, @ 2:30p
Glazing will take place between Wednesday July 15 thru 17.
Sign-up notifications will go out to members the first week in June
Make sure that you have bisque pieces ready to glaze
Raku is an ancient Eastern method of firing simple pottery. After the pottery has been bisque fired it is glazed with metallic or white crackle glazes. The glazed pottery is fired quickly outdoors. It is removed from the kiln with tongs while glowing red hot and placed in a container filled with combustibles. At this point a reduction occurs. The fire is seeking oxygen and thus turns the metallic glazes amazing unpredictable colors, while making the unglazed clay body turn black.
As the story goes;
Raku was created in Japan, and was the
traditional pottery form for creating
roof tiles and bowls for tea ceremony's
The name Raku was bestowed on
16th century Japanese potter Chojro
by the great Japanese tea master
Sen-No-Rikyu
Removed from the red hot Kiln and
placed in a mass of combustible material,
Reducing the atmosphere for the
glaze color to be exposed on the clay
surface, provided results that are unpredictable,
which makes the process addicting