Tidal Raku Vase
This piece is inspired by the (often jaw-dropping) tides we experience here in British Columbia. We often see a bigger high tide followed by a smaller one, and sailors like myself must be aware of the constantly changing depth of water under our keels.
I threw this one by hand on the wheel from a heavily grogged raku clay, designed to stand up to the thermal shock of the firing process known as North American Raku. I chose a matte blue and shiny variegated turquoise for this one, and the black matte surface detail is where the surface of the bare clay of the pot has carbonized in the fire.
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.
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Raku pieces are not food safe or waterproof. Raku is decorative only.