Raku Day

As you all know, I've been in a pottery class with an emphasis on the Japanese Raku style. Thursday was the last day of class, and we spent the day glazing and then firing the pieces we had made in the Raku kiln on our teacher's property.
Here's a load of bisque ware waiting to be glazed.
Here's the kiln loaded with glazed pieces.

The firings had to be done in small batches, because the pieces have to be kept at 1800 degrees until they're ready to be taken out of the kiln, one at a time, with a set of tongs, and put into the reduction material.

After it's put into the reduction material (something organic, like hay or leaves), the pieces are then covered with a bucket, or somehow have the oxygen cut off.
The tub that was used for this particular batch was then partially buried to further seal off the oxygen. We then waited for around twenty minutes or so to uncover the pieces.


Though you can't really tell from these pics, or even the video, when the piece is removed from the organic material and cooled a little, the colors begin to react to the oxygen that hits the piece. We could see the colors changing before our eyes as the pieces began to cool.

They were then plunged into a big tub of water while still hot. This is my piece after it came out of the tub and got scrubbed to remove the carbon from the glaze. Here's the process of removing the red-hot pieces and putting them into the reduction:


And then being removed from the reduction and allowed to cool before plunging them into the water bath.

And here is moi with my finished piece.
What a great experience!

News From the Nest

This week was pretty intense. I'm taking a class in Raku pottery for college credit. I had heard from several students who were in my ceramics class last semester that my teacher was really great with the pottery wheel, and if I wanted to get some good practice and instruction, this was the guy to learn from. They were absolutely right.
Source.
Brian Hayes goes into detail without overwhelming you, and shares his passion for the art and the Japanese culture while encouraging every single student to stretch themselves to do the best work they can do. He taught me a few new throwing techniques this week, and it was like a light went on for me. A large chunk of frustration dropped away, and my wheel work has started to click for me. Give me seven or eight years and a ton of teaching, and I'll be a flippin' awesome potter! Needless to say, I have enjoyed this week's class enormously!

In other news, Mr. ShellHawk and I are celebrating our fifth anniversary. We have both been in pretty poopy relationships before, so we're really grateful to have each other and we enjoy a huge level of peace in our marriage. This anniversary, Mr. ShellHawk surprised me by telling me we are going to Safari West, which is close to the Napa area.
A little chunk of Africa, close to home. I am really looking forward to it! We will be taking our mascot with us for pictures with various critters and patient (and likely, confused-looking) people.

I'll post again on Monday! Have a great weekend, all!