|
Raku means
happiness. It is a traditional Chinese/Japanese firing method where
fired pottery is lifted from an outdoor kiln while burning yellow hot (the
color of the sun) and smothered in a garbage can full of leaves, paper, or
straw. The can is then lidded and all the oxygen burned out.
This reduction of oxygen creates fantastic and brilliant glaze colors,
such as on a new copper penny or the swirls in an oil slick. The
piece is then dunked in cool water. Raku is a high risk process,
where the temperature of the pot plunges some 1900 degrees in half an hour
and cracks are common. In traditional Zen thought, where the natural
and spontaneous are celebrated, these cracks are appreciated for their
intrinsic aesthetic value. |
