Ceramics and Pottery Arts and Resources

 

 Raku bowl master at Asukagama, Takumi Nakashima

 

 

 

 Japanese chawan in the traditional red and black by Shoraku Sasaki

This bowl received an award from the monk Kankei Moriyama.(1888-1955) and was named “Yume” – which means a dream.

( RubyLane )

Origins of Raku

 

The originator of raku in Japan was Sasaki Chojiro, who first produced raku pieces for the Japanese tea ceremony in the 16th century. He learnt the technique from his father Ameya, who was trained in the Ming Dynasty Sencai pottery tradition and was brought to Kyoto, Japan from China. The original chawan tea bowls were red and black and called ‘ Imma yaki ‘ These colors were favored because they represented the Yang elements which are grounding and support the tea ceremony principals of contemplation and austerity. This was further enhanced by using simple hand crafted forms while being balanced with the Yin forces of the abstract, asymmetrical shapes and the ethereal quality of the mysterious raku textures, appearance and colours.

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Nweka  –  Josette Boyer, France

Artblog

 

 

Three raku pigeons – Glo Coalson

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Raku Procedures

 

Despite Raku being primarily decorative and rarely used for functional purposes, Raku has maintained a healthy level of popularity in the West. Some of the reasons for this are the diversity of  lustres and unique colours that are attainable, the creation of desirable crackle effects, the dramatic and exciting production process, the versatility of the glazes,  the unpredictable  “ one of a kind  “ outcomes and the relatively fast results that can be achieved. Adherents have also been drawn to Raku because of its deep tradition in the Japanese culture.
After the initial formation of the clay pieces which have then been dried, bisqued and cooled, they are ready for glazing. The glaze can be applied by spraying, brushing, dipping the piece in a glaze or drizzled.  After glazing the piece it is then re-fired in a raku kiln. The decorated pieces are fired again to 1800 F and within about an hour, when the desired melting of the glazes have been achieved, they are immediately removed while still glowing with special raku tongs ( the dramatic stage ) and quickly placed into a metal container filled with organic materials such as straw, leaves, pine needles, sawdust or paper, then quickly sealed to be smoked and cooled down.
The thermal shock causes the glazes to craze and carbon fills the cracks giving the glaze it’s distinctive crackle appearance, especially with the white based glazes. As the piece sits in the combustion chamber, the decreased oxygen causes a chemical reaction in the glazes, resulting in metallic, iridescent colors. One glaze can produce a variety of colors as flashing occurs in areas that are exposed to more or less amounts of oxygen. The colors achieved are spontaneous and unable to be replicated.
The natural un-glazed clay will become black from the smoking environment, while the glazed areas, due to the rapid cooling, will have the desirable crackle effect and/or look of lustres to the glaze. The piece is then cooled by quenching with water and cleaned. The glaze firing and reduction process generally takes between one to two hours. A raku kiln can be fired in 20 minutes, as opposed to 12 hours for a regular kiln. All these above factors have made Raku a popular choice for pottery workshops which has contributed to its growth.

 

 

This piece was fired with a copper bearing glaze that ages and mellows as it gets older Non functional, decorative use only

3.3″ h -x- 5.7″ w

Ron Mello Studio on Etsy

 

 

 Large abstract raku fired sculpture by Roger Capron.

 

 

 Raku bottle by Ryan Peters

  Black and white lidded raku jar – Andy Smith

 

 

 Athena Raku fired sculpture

2 artstudios

 

 

 Raku Bowl –  Jacques Tissot, Fribourg (Switzerland)

 

 

Caffeine Buzz teapot – Ryan Peters

2013

 

 Ryan Peters raku lidded jar

clayguyry

 

 

Ryan Peters Raku Pottery

 

 

 Dance of The Seven Raku Vases – Catherine Rehbein

 

 

 

 

 Naked Raku Fern dish – Eena Miller

 

 

 Raku earthenware on wood board  – Nicole Petrescu

Nicole Petrescu – Flickr

Raku sculptural vase – Shaun Hall

Raku horsehair pottery vase –Letsgetmuddy, California

This vase was coated with terra sigillata , a refined slip coating that is used to give a high satin gloss without the use of a glaze and burnished with a small stone at least three times before its initial bisque firing. It was then fired in my raku kiln. When the temperature reached approximately 1500 degrees F. it was removed from the kiln and horse hair held up against the hot pot. The black markings you see are what was left behind.
As the pot cooled it was fumed with an iron solution that gives it a warm fiery hue.

( Letsgetmuddy – flickr )

Jim Romberg, ‘Canyon Moon’

2005

Copper Raku Vase

 morphingmolecules-etsy

 Classic Red Raku Urn – ElementalUrns – Etsy

 

 

 

Francois Chesneau raku vessel  — la-porte-du-soleil

Paris

 

Horse hair raku bottle –  Saratoga clay arts

 

 

Raku bowl by Jacques-Tissot, Fribourg (Switzerland)

 

 

 Raku fired sculptural disc – La porte du soleil, France

 

 

Built from extruded elements, then raku fired -Brenda Dean

2007

 

 

Raku jar – La porte du soleil

 

Malcolm Davis shino glazed ( raku like ) vase

 

 

Nita Claise

 

Nita Claise raku pottery

 

 

Raku bottle Nita Claise, Indiana USA

 

 

Hand-thrown Scallop Bowl, raku fired –  Christopher Mathie

 

 

Hand thrown & Sculpted Raku Poppy Vessel – Christopher Mathie

 ” 2 Birds in a Tree “—   Raku Bird Feeder’ by ringoffire pottery

Nancy Pene raku

clayPENEtration.com

Lidded raku jar – Nancy Pene

Tall black and white curling pieces – Tim Andrews

 

 

 

 

 Buddha Statue Seated in the Clouds Sculpture –  raku  – by Anita Feng – buddhabulider

 

 

Raku Pottery with melted glass by Steven Forbe deSoule

 

 

Ribbed Raku vessel by Ron Mello

 

 

Saturn Vessel – rakuvessels.com

33”h x 20”w x 20”d

 

 

Ron Mello

 

 

Raku ovoid vessel – Ron Mello Middleboro-MA,

 

 

 

Brent Skinner -lidded raku pot with handles

 

 

 

Ryan Peters

 

 Mary Kenny

 

 

Tim Scull,-ceramic artist doing raku and sagger fired pottery

 

 

Tony Evans — Raku Bowl on Wooden Stand

 

 

Tweezle Picksniffian -Raku Ceramic by Carole Fleischman

 

 

 Nina Clais – sculptural raku bottle

 

 

 

Nina Clais raku teapot

 

 

 Raku III  – Thierry FINIDORI (Vallauris)

 

 

Ceramic Copper Raku Vase

morphingmolecules – etsy

Handcrafted Raku leaves by Maarit Mattanen – Finland

 

 

 

Matte copper reduction raku vase – William K Turner

 

 

 

Covered raku jar – Rick Lowenka