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Raku night notes
Twelve pots, one very hot drum and a bucket of sawdust. What we learned from our first raku firing.
Raku is the loudest thing we do at the Yard. Pots come out of the kiln glowing orange at around 1,000°C, go straight into a bin of sawdust, and the smoke does the rest. The crackle you see in the glaze is the glaze cooling faster than the clay underneath it.
What went well
- Bisque-fired pots with thick walls survived the shock; the thin ones did not.
- Newspaper on top of the sawdust gave the strongest black lines.
- Two people per lift, always. Tongs are heavier than they look at arm's length.
What we would change
We left the lid on the reduction bin too long on the first round and lost most of the copper flash. Next time we will lift it after ninety seconds and burp it once.
The next raku night is on the What's on page. Bring old clothes and closed shoes.
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