Raku is an ancient Japanese technique for firing ceramics. It is a very spectacular technique to see, and definitely to do yourself! Why? Because you start working with very high temperatures. You remove the workpiece (yourself!) from the kiln at a temperature of about 1000°C, and then place it in wood shavings.

During the workshop, we will start glazing the already ‘biscuit’ fired works. Various colours are available. Then, in a very short time, we will fire up the work to about 1000° C in a gas-fired kiln.

After the work has been at that temperature for some time, the applied glaze has melted out nicely.

Then we take out the work red hot. The temperature shock will cause the glaze to crackle. We then place it in wood shavings. The heat makes it burn by itself. After a short while, we cover it with a bucket. which extinguishes the fire, creating soot. That soot soaks into the cracks that have formed, giving the special effect.