Raku

We raku'd some pieces on Thursday in my ceramics class.  It was awesome.  I glazed two of my bowls for it.  The nice thing about Raku is that it only takes a couple of hours as opposed to a couple of days, and the glazes are really neat.  I also took some pictures.

       
The fire that's heating the kiln.



The kiln on the right and the garbage can we put our pieces in on the left.


The hole on the side of the kiln, so you can look in and see if the pieces are glowing.  When they are glowing really bright that's when we take them out and put them in the trash cans.


The kiln all fired up.



My pieces all done.  Mine were in the first firing.  I took pictures of the second firing.

The kiln again.




Ready to be moved.

And moving them to the trash cans.







We put newspapers in the bottom of the cans and then put the pieces in, and since the pottery is so hot it catches the newspaper on fire.






We put the lid on it, so that we can smother the fire and reduce the oxygen.  By reducing the oxygen the glazes can react with the carbon and we get the neat colors and crackling.


 There's a pulley system to raise and lower the kiln.

Doesn't my professor look a bit like Mrs. Wagoner.


 And by the end of class we all smell like a campfire.


 Here are my pieces: