Raku

Potterycrafts recently had the pleasure of inviting Great Pottery Throwdown winner Lois Gunn to our factory to have a go with one of our raku kilns.
As part of the two days we mixed glazes, fired naked raku, and created lots of smoke and flames as well as some beautiful pots.

Keep checking this page for more images, articles and information which we will add as the month progresses.

This event was made possible with the help of Mike Scown who provided the recipes and techniques for the naked recipes and Dave our raku Kiln builder who was on hand to give technical kiln firing advice.

Here are some of the images from our two days: Keep reading below to find out more about what we learned on out two day event.

lois gunn and friends doing a happy raku dance sawdust bursting into flames on contact with a hot pot, at the start of the reduction process a selection of the pots created using the naked raku process
Dave our raku kiln builder with one of his kilns Glaze ingreadients ready to be mixed the 135lt gas fired Raku kiln

Make your own Raku glazes

Posted on 24/07/23

Naked Raku and Terra-sig

Posted on 17/07/23

Our raku event started with a workshop on Naked raku. Naked raku comes in two options, naked raku with terra sigilata or the most common being slip resist. They are both decorative variations of the raku pottery technique that involves applying a slip or resist material to the surface of the pottery before it is placed in the raku kiln. We tried both types.

Raku Pottery Firing using the Roderveld Pyramid Raku Kiln

Posted on 10/07/23

Raku pottery firing is a unique and exciting firing method that produces a stunning range of visual results. As our team discovered during our two-day event, glazes acted differently depending on how fast the heat was raised in the kiln, how much air was able to circulate in the kiln and how well the pot was covered by combustibles during the reduction process. No two pots were alike which is part of the beauty and unpredictability of this firing method