Raku Firing

This is our raku kiln during a evening firing. We use propane gas for the fuel. The square thing on the front is a pyrometer that is used to measure at very high temperatures. There is an attached cable running to the right side of the kiln that is attached to a probe inserted into the kiln though a small hole. When the temperature reaches 2000 degrees F., Henri removes the entire top of the kiln using heavy duty asbestos gloves.

With the top of the kiln removed, Henri uses a pair of long handled tongs to remove the pot.

It will go into this prepared garbage can filled with sawdust and ripped up newspaper.

When the glowing hot pot hits the newspaper, it immediately ignites with a quick swoosh of flames.





He lets it burn for about 20 seconds, adding a little more combustible materials, before slamming down the lid to the can to begin the process known as reduction. This process will completely take out all the oxygen from inside the can, and when the chemicals in the raku glaze react to this starvation of oxygen, that's when the metallic flashes occur.







After about 20 minutes in the trash can, the pots are taken out with tongs and plunged into cold water, which is a tremendous thermal shock, considering the temperature of the pots which are still way too hot to handle.

These are some of my pots that we fired today.

They are hard to photograph because of all the reflections in them.

And here are 10 little fish all plucked from the fire today as well.

And some upclose shots

Translated from Japanese, the word raku means "enjoyment". Traditional Japanese raku was used as part of ancient tea ceremonies, but has been adapted by Western potters into a more contemporary art form, which is the process we use.

The Art of the Fire

These whimsical fish were sculpted by my husband in an attempt to use up the extra clay that is wasted from working on wheel thrown pieces. Each one of his creations seems to take on it's own unique personality.

They have been bisque fired and glazed, but their true identity awaits and will be revealed in the next post.

Tonight was the night a few of them made it to the fire. This glowing creature is the result of

having spent about 30 minutes in the raku kiln where the temperature rose to 2000 degrees fahrenheit. This moment is part of the excitement of raku, when you lift the top off the kiln and are met with the very heart and soul of your piece. Tomorrow they will look quite different.

Our pots will be fired later, but tonight it was all about the fish.