How to Do Raku
Raku originally was a gift at Japanese parties about 400 years ago. Guests made a small decorative bowl and took it with them. Today, raku, which is actually the firing process and not the clay, is thought of as a ceramic bowl, usually dark colored with metallic markings. The glaze crackles, pits and deepens into dark crevices during the firing process. You can attempt the process, but the tools to achieve raku are specialized, and you need to find a potter who will instruct you on the Zen of raku as well as the steps before finding a kiln in which to fire your artwork.
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Things You'll Need
- Fireclay that can withstand extreme temperatures
- Potter's wheel (optional)
- Glaze that can withstand high temperatures
- Metallic glaze
- Cone 010-06
- Kiln (must start cold for raku)
- Fire mitts
- Tongs
- Reduction container
- Goggles
Instructions
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1
Work a lump of clay the size and shape of a teacup in your hands until it is pliable. You may use a potter's wheel to shape a cup without a handle, but true raku devotees prefer to feel the clay and to release the spirit of the cup as they mold and form the shape.
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2
Fire the clay to turn it into bisque. This pottery is no different from any other project except at the end. If you were to glaze and fire this clay before turning it into bisque, it would shatter.
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3
Glaze the bisque with a dark glaze that can withstand the higher temperatures of raku firing. All raku has a dark undertone. Apply metallic glaze. Raku always has streaks of metallic in a random pattern. The glazes are specially formulated for the temperatures of raku.
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4
Use Cone 010-06 in the final firing of your cup. It is a high temperature that gives the raku the insulating qualities that keep tea warmer but leave the vessel vulnerable to breakage. Watch the kiln through the peepholes; when the metallic glaze begins to run, your piece is ready. Use fire mitts and tongs to immediately remove it, and place it into a reduction container full of combustibles so it can start the fire that provides the smoked look of raku. Seal the piece into the reduction container where it can cool quickly. Many raku makers put their broiling hot cups on beds of leaves or straw on the bare ground when they come out of the kiln and allow them to air dry. The bed of combustibles will burst into flame and give the raku another quality of shading.
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After the raku piece has cooled but is still hot, grasp it with the tongs, and plunge it into water to finish the process. This process reveals the glaze and the work of the combustibles in your one-of-a-kind piece.
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Tips & Warnings
Hand-molding your cup rather than placing it on a potter's wheel has to do with the Zen of the technique. Hand-molding is thought to remove the ego from the cup, because it will never attain the symmetry that a wheel would produce.
Although the technique follows the usual steps of forming, firing, glazing and firing, the end results come from the extremes of heat and instant cooling. Use proper raku-fomented glazes, and fire at the recommended temperature. It can be highly dangerous to handle the red-hot cup taken from the kiln before it cools. Always wear mitts, use tongs and protect your eyes. Some raku is used for actual drinking, but most is meant to be decorative.
