Ceramic Art

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!

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