RAKU

What is Raku? Making raku is a low-temperature technique of glazing porous, low bisque fired pottery. The red hot glazed pottery is taken from the kiln and placed in a bin containing combustible materials. Covering the bin eliminates the source of oxygen and thereby creates a reduction atmosphere which affects the finished glaze. The results are never the same; therefore, each finished piece has its own personality. Raku originated in Japan in the sixteenth century. It was a very specific and serious tradition where a legitimate successor (one capable of holding the succession) to a line of potters would be the one to whom the secrets of this art was bequeathed verbally. Raku today is significantly different from the Raku of Japan in that it is now more of an art form involving different colorful glazes.