Raku is a traditional Japanese style of firing clay commonly used for tea ceremonies.
Firing clay in raku technique involves removing the clay from the kiln while it is still hot and relocating it to an active fire. The clay continues to fire engulfed in flames and flammable material, making the result unpredictable as the glaze shifts in color and cracks.
As the first quarter came to a close, students in the ceramics program at our school had the opportunity to raku fire chadawans (tea bowls) they made in class. Students threw small bowls on clay wheels in class, and then later hand-carved the outside to create a unique texture and bring out a more defined “bowl” shape to the pieces. They then painted oxide glazes onto the surface and set them aside. Once these bowls were dry, they would be ready to fire.
Kumu Hazen, one of our ceramics kumu, says that carving from the clay makes the piece seem more like it was “born from the clay rather than made out of clay.” The bowls had been fired in an outdoor kiln, and kumu removed red-hot ceramics from the kilns and placed them onto a safe platform, ready for students to line up and quickly transport them to trashcans filled with fire and scraps of newspaper. After a student had placed the pot into the can, another student would throw more newspaper on top before a separate student quickly placed the lid on top. They let the clay sit there for several minutes before removing it and bringing down the temperature with cold water from a hose.
Each chadawan that came from this was entirely unique, and students celebrated by drinking matcha and hot chocolate from their bowls afterward!
