Linda, Raku Bald Eagle

British Columbian bald eagle bust in coppery hues and white crackle on the head feathers. There is a pair of adult eagles in one of the trees in Vanier Park that we walk by with our dogs on a daily basis and I always look up to catch a glimpse of them. This piece is based on the female, which my partner and I jokingly named Linda (we call her partner Bob).
 
I sculpted Linda in an inquisitive pose, head cocked to the side, from a heavily grogged raku clay, designed to stand up to the thermal shock of the firing process known as North American Raku. Check out the video to see part of how she came to life in the fire and smoke!
 
What is North American Raku?
This glazing process is wild. After an initial bisque firing in a standard electric kiln, I glaze each piece by hand with special metallic glazes. Then we fire the pieces again to 1840 degrees Fahrenheit, and remove them directly from the kiln --glowing hot-- with tongs to place them into a nest of paper combustibles inside a sealed metal chamber.  This exciting method of glaze firing removes all of the oxygen inside of the chamber giving rise to a reduction atmosphere which allows for the development of these intensely shiny coppery hues. The pieces are then cold shocked to further develop the colours and textures.
 
Raku is usually more expensive than traditionally glazed ceramics because of the high likelyhood of thermal shock and cracking. Many pieces are lost to this process, making the resulting gems that we pull from the literal ashes all the more special, and completely one of a kind.