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There is
something new happening which is really very old, it's
RAKU!
Chojiro did it in the late 1500's
Bernard Leach did it in 1911
Warren Gilbertson first introduced it to the U.S.
in 1941
Since 1960, Paul Soldner has made it
popular.
The word RAKU has been interpreted to mean
enjoyment, happiness, delight, pleasure, ease, comfort. It
originates from a gold seal engraving by Taiko in the 16th
century. Taiko, an enthusiast of the tea ceremony, passed it on
to Chojiro, whose father Ameya, a Korean tile maker, is said to
have first produced Raku pottery in Kyoto, Japan earlier in
1525. Some years after these first experiences with making Raku,
Chojiro received a commission for tea utensils and Raku has been
carried on popularly ever since.
In Japan the shapes were, and are, basically
confined to hand made tea bowls of irregular forms. Very modern
and unpretentious, they are made directly with the hands and are
in perfect harmony with the tea ceremony. They are specifically
made for touching and should be handled in order to be fully
appreciated. These asymmetrical tea bowls hold masterwork status
among aesthetically oriented individuals.
"Whether or not today's Raku potter should
reflect the philosophical Oriental heritage in his/her ceramic
forms is a matter of personal choice. If an American potter were
to incorporate some other standard or form for expression...,
there would be no need to feel any apprehension; it is not the
form or even the philosophy of Raku which is important - the
form will disappear in time, it is sure to be broken - it is the
experience that lives and moves life forward." - Robert
Piepenburg, Raku Pottery
Though Raku is an ancient, very spiritual
ceremony, it has developed in America to accommodate our Western
impatience. Raku is spontaneous and relatively fast, giving
immediate results. Participants can actually watch the pot turn
to a glowing red and the glaze change from the dry powder state,
through a bubbling mass to the finish of a wet glossy glass - in
all a very short period of time. It's much faster than the
normally slow stoneware processes; brings immediacy and
spontaneity into the pots which is sometimes lost in the normal
routine of stoneware firing.
Raku pieces in Japan were and still are very
functional utensils of the tea ceremony. However, in the United
States it is most popularly used as an art form. This is not a
necessity nor even a precedent. Without the use of lead glazes
Raku ware can be very functional and utilitarian. It should not
be confused, though, with the strength and durability of
stoneware pots. Raku is a relatively fragile and this should be
kept in mind when constructing pots. When constructing pieces,
it is important to remember the thermal shock the pots will
receive. The more joints in a hand built form - the greater
chance for breakage. This is done by carefully securing the
joints with a tight fit.
Because the firing process is so fats it is
sometimes easy to get carried away with this speed and let it
affect the actual construction of the pieces, stamping out many
lifeless pots. The simple asymmetrical shapes of the traditional
Japanese tea bowl can not be confused with an insensitive mass
of slapped together pots. A potter should be sensitive to the
clay, his self, and his environment.
Historically, Raku bowls were designed to
accommodate the Japanese tea ceremony. Today, Raku need not be
related to tea, Zen, or Japan. We must work within our own
environment and as a product of our environment. It would be
neither realistic nor honest of us to expect ourselves or our
students to work as Japanese potters making Japanese utensils.
It is, however, important to see and touch pottery of all ages
and cultures and to try and reproduce those pots. That old fear
of "copying" someone else's pot should be erased, especially for
students. There is very little chance that one person's pot will
turn out like another's. Individual style nearly always pops up
and makes it a little different.
The actual firing of Raku is the most
exciting step, of course! You are able to watch your pot
transform from a dull matte powder to a glassy iridescence. The
glowing hot pot is removed with tongs, and are placed in a pit
or can holding combustible materials, i.e. leaves, newspaper,
grass, or sawdust. This is where most of the reduction takes
place. After letting the pots reduce, pull them out and dunk
them into water. This sets the carbon into the clay body and
keeps the glaze from reoxidizing. There are other methods,
however, which decrease thermal shock somewhat. Some potters
water mist the pots or air cool them with a strong fan. As soon
as the pot is cool it is touchable.
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