Raku Magic

I participated in my very first raku session recently. I was convinced that raku is a firing process that is one part science and two parts magic. While my pots aren't the best, I really enjoyed seeing the process and the results. I look forward to my next raku experiences, and to improving my resulting pots!

Luster Duster glaze (above).

Rick's Turquoise glaze (above).

White Crackle glaze (above).

Dan's Blue glaze (above). The following are images of the process: Raku at Tin Barn Pottery.

We placed a few pieces at a time in the kiln.

They became almost molten, as you can see below as they raised the kiln.

We used long metal tongs to lift them off of the bricks, and depending upon the glaze (and the type of magic we wanted to perform), we would place them in buckets of water to cool or metal cans with newspapers and sawdust to smoke (below).

Definitely magic.