Raku Party

I haven't been taking ceramics classes since July. My old ceramics class had a raku party last night and they invited me to attend. In case you are unfamiliar with the raku process, I took some video of the fun part. Raku is a Japanese, low-fire (the kiln is brought up to only about 1,900 degrees) glazing technique. I think it's fun because they take the pieces right out of the kiln when they're red hot. Then the pieces are placed in small trash cans with newspapers and other flammable materials while the piece continues to cool down. It's a lot of fun because the process allows for a lot of variation in how the pieces turn out. It's pretty hit or miss. Either way, it's a lot like Christmas when you finally get to see what the pots look like when they come out.

In addition to the raku party, I picked up three more pieces that had been fired for me. I have one left and then I'll be hanging up my apron for a while. Kinda sad. Here are some pictures of my last few pieces.