At the Morningside School of Arts on Sunday 30 April, Ceramic Arts Qld volunteers demonstrated how it’s done to an inquisitive crowd of adults and children at the the Southside Art Market.
It was an action-packed performance that excited even the most experienced raku exponent.
Kimberly Oberlin and Emma MacGregor met at around 8am and set the CAQ marquee and the safety perimeter and kilns.
Soon after CAQ volunteers, Cherry Evans, Penny Lang, Lynette Larson and Fran Smith set up the glazing tables and display and got the glazing underway.
It was Kimberly who took charge of the glaze table directing volunteers and showing the enthusiastic children how to apply glaze to their recently purchased pots.
The kilns were up and firing shortly before 9am, running consistently until 1pm when the last of the pots were fired.
Before 1pm we had sold out of pots! “Flame thrower” and CAQ board member *Bill Powell kindly donated a box of around 60 pots he had thrown and bisque fired specifically for the event!
Pot shapes included vases and teabowls and the sought after “moon” pot or sphere shape.
The pure and classic shapes made glazing easy, even for children and some were designed to be stacked allowing maximum kiln use and faster firing for the eagerly waiting participants.
Raku is the fastest way to glaze and fire ceramic work, using special clay and an immediate heating process. Spectacular results are achieved from the sudden heating and cooling, with or without exposure to a smoking chamber. Beautiful iridescent and lustrous surfaces are possible with the option to reglaze and refire as the whole cycle takes about 40 minutes.
It’s always a thrill to see the unexpected and unique results that inevitably happen from this spontaneous form of firing.
If you have an interest in knowing how it’s done, or picking up some tips, or even joining the raku volunteers on for our next Raku day, then come along and join in.
*To see more of Bill Powell’s “flame throwing” visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLkCh-477IQ.
Here is a link to the video for a small taste of the Raku Day.
Ceramic Arts Queensland Raku Kilns at Southside Markets