Raku is an ancient Japanese method of firing pottery. I fire mine in a kiln outside of the studio. I bring the pieces up to 1830 degrees and then pull them out and let them cool, or even blow air on them, before putting them into a reduction chamber. The glaze cools faster than the clay which is why the cracks form. The reduction chamber impregnates the clay with carbon and once it’s cooled, the black is locked into the cracks and the clay and is permanent. Each Raku piece is very different from the next and really exemplifies the hand made look and feel.
This piece is considered a ‘B’ quality piece due to a flaw (chip) that happened during the intense firing process. You can tell it happened prior to reduction chamber because the chip location has the carbon black color. The piece is priced accordingly and most likely you will be the only one that knows.
Raku pottery is visual art only and does not hold water and is not food safe.
