Alternative Firings
Raku
Working with Raku is an outdoor activity where you are close to the 4 elements, earth-wind-fire- water, and all these elements are cocreators.
Raku has his origin in Japan, in the 1600 and related to the tea ceremonies and Zen Philosophy.
Today it is appreciated and practiced all over the world, in different ways, free from its origin.
Raku wares are hand-formed, mostly using coiling technique that allows me to speak through the finished work with directness and intimacy.
After glazing, the wares are placed in a gas fired kiln up to 900 Celsius degrees for around 45 minutes. Then the work is removed from the kiln at bright red heat and subjected to post-firing reduction, or smoking, by being placed in a container with combustible materials which blackens raw clay and causes crazing in the glaze surface.
Smoke Firing
This firing take place in a barrel. The pots are packed with different organic materials like wood shavings, straw, sawdust, steel wool and soluble salts like Copper and Iron Sulfate.
A fire is lit on top and when everything is firing well, the barrel is covered and left to burn out.
This can take anything from 12 hours to 1 day. As the sawdust and wood shavings smolder, the smoke and fumes burn permanently into the clay surface.
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