Rockin' Raku

Artist Judith Gary has some new work on the site we wanted to share with you. Almost all of it is raku, a specialized form of curing pottery. Shown here is the piece "Element # 3" from her Earth, Wind, Fire & Water series. it combines wheel thrown & slab built techniques and is 30 inches tall.

"Raku is a low fire technique developed by the Japanese," explains the artist. "The clay piece is set in a preheated kiln and quickly brought up to temperature. When the glaze reaches maturation (I fire to approximately 1800 deg F) the piece is pulled out and rapidly cooled. My approach is in the American Raku tradition: immediately after removal, I place the piece in a trash can with paper, which ignites and begins to burn. A lid is placed on top to seal in the smoke. The heavy reduction atmosphere results in the unique "raku look."

Raku is a strictly a decorative technique and is not suitable for food service or placement outside in the elements.

(c) 2008 - Ruth Mitchell - all rights reserved