When the ceramics meet with the flammable materials, they catch on fire. This does 2 things - creates smoke and creates a 'reductive' atmosphere where the oxygen is being used up by the burning materials and then carbon is drawn into the bare clay colouring it black. Where the clay is covered with a glaze, certain special effects can be achieved, again due to this condition of heat without any oxygen. The most well known of these is a cracked appearance where the fine cracks have all been coloured black by the carbon.
Because the clay heats up relatively quickly and then cools down quickly, they clay goes under a lot of stress. Certain modelling techniques work better than others - also the type of clay you use makes a big difference. Relatively simply forms without lots of breakable appendages are best! Rough textures and unfinished edges can look wonderful!
I had my first Raku class (it is spread over 4 Wednesdays) and it was great!
I made some test tiles and buttons and also a fairly finished 2 sided bottle. It will not have any glaze but will have horse-hair sprinkled onto it and then polished with wax. The horse-hair, gives a wonderful wiggly linear sort of imprint as it burns and fuses to the pot.
Next week is the second week of making, I have a few more ideas I want to try: leaf plates, I bet these look incredible in Raku. I also want ot make another 2-sided bottle and a few 'patchwork' bowls. The creative juices are really flowing!!!!
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