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10/07 (Fri) Raku Ceramic Firing at Mildred Hall Garden 4:00-8:00PM

$35.00

sold out

We will be firing up our Raku kiln Friday night from 4pm-8pm. Feel free to bring dinner and drinks. We will have tables and chairs set up in the garden.

This is a family friendly workshop and all ages are welcome. Kids must be accompanied with an adult.

Each participant can fire two pieces. You can bring your own pieces. All pieces should have been bisque fired to cone 04-06 prior to Raku firings. We will provide the glazes.

We will also have pieces ready to be glazed available for purchase at $20 each.

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We will be firing up our Raku kiln Friday night from 4pm-8pm. Feel free to bring dinner and drinks. We will have tables and chairs set up in the garden.

This is a family friendly workshop and all ages are welcome. Kids must be accompanied with an adult.

Each participant can fire two pieces. You can bring your own pieces. All pieces should have been bisque fired to cone 04-06 prior to Raku firings. We will provide the glazes.

We will also have pieces ready to be glazed available for purchase at $20 each.

We will be firing up our Raku kiln Friday night from 4pm-8pm. Feel free to bring dinner and drinks. We will have tables and chairs set up in the garden.

This is a family friendly workshop and all ages are welcome. Kids must be accompanied with an adult.

Each participant can fire two pieces. You can bring your own pieces. All pieces should have been bisque fired to cone 04-06 prior to Raku firings. We will provide the glazes.

We will also have pieces ready to be glazed available for purchase at $20 each.

Raku is an ancient pottery process, which started in roughly the 16th century. It is different than firing a piece in a regular kiln. This process is done outdoors, using a large gas kiln. The pieces are then heated to 1,850 degrees Fahrenheit and once that temperature is reached the kiln is lifted open and using special metal tongs the pieces are then carefully removed from the kiln.

The pottery at this stage will be molten hot state so extreme caution must be used. Pieces will then be exposed to the air for a few seconds and spritzed with warm to extenuate any crackle effects desired. Pieces will then be placed into metal containers containing combustible materials (newspaper, straw, hay, sawdust). Pieces will instantly ignite the materials in the containers and the flames will start to cause black smoke and ash to fill the container. Because of the varying direction of the flames and materials, no two pieces will ever look alike.

Seconds after being placed in the container the lids will be placed tightly on top of the containers which deprives the pieces of oxygen, causing the pottery to soak up the ash and flames into the body of pots. Pots will sit for 5 minutes during this process. After 5 minutes containers will be opened briefly for a quick fanning of the pots to re-ignite the combustible material and reintroduce oxygen and flames once more. This process is called “burping”. Once more the lids will be closed tight and then the pieces will remain in the smoldering containers for 15 minutes untouched.

After the 15 minutes of reducing is complete the lids are uncovered and the pieces carefully removed. They will still be extremely hot so tongs are still used. They can then be laid on the ground, and spray bottles full of warm water can be used to slowly bring the pots temperature down to a safe touch. The water will also act as a way to bring out the colors further and stop any further reduction of the pieces. Finally after the work is back to room temperature, pieces can then be washed with soap (comet) and a scrubbing sponge to remove any residue.

Avoid making forms that might be used as functional ware. Since Raku pieces can never be food safe it better to always make more sculptural or decorative pieces. Lustrous Raku pieces should never be kept in direct sunlight, as they will fade color over time.