Christine Heisler Chris Heisler pottery
Raku
Raku box- iridescent lid with rainbow
base
13" x 6" x 4"
Raku box- decorated lid with red crackle base
11" x 5" x 4"
Colorful raku jar with textured handle.
5" diameter, 4" tall.
Using the traditional Japanese firing technique called raku, I am
in the process of creating a number of boxes and small jars for keepsake
items. These are low-fired and therefore not suitable for food storage
or serving. The stoneware is hardened, however it remains somewhat
porous.
The pieces are bisque fired as usual and then glazed
with special glazes formulated for raku firing. They are then quickly
fired in a small gas kiln to about 1700° F The process takes only about
45 minutes.
Once they become molten in appearance, they
are removed from the kiln and quickly placed into a can filled with
combustible material. The burning, hot piece causes a small fire in the
can until the fire is smothered out with the lid. The flames and smoke
are very important to the final appearance of the piece.
The
iridescent glazes become streaked with rainbow effects and crackle
glazes become patterned with spiderwebs of back lines. The colors and
patterns are always a surprise! Copper glazes can go from green to
metallic, and heavier applications crawl. Wherever the clay is
unglazed, the resulting color is a soft black from where the smoke
penetrates the clay body. These boxes are a lot of fun to create!
Stop back soon, as I will be adding more pieces to this inventory.
These items are quite popular. Please inquire if you are interested.