My raku ceramic ware is primarily thrown stoneware on the wheel, shaped and altered then fired to bisque.

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The second firing is where the really interesting stuff happens.  Using my outside Raku kiln, after heating to around 900C, the pots are taken out when at the right temperature and placed into combustibles.

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Raku glazes contain alumina, which has a very high melting point. After the glaze has reached a certain temperature, the metal in the glaze reacts taking on a specific color. Cobalt produces dark-blue and copper produces green but can also produce a red when the oxygen in the glaze is completely gone.

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Defined as 'Japanese hand-moulded lead-glazed earthenware, originally invented in 16th-century Kyōto by the potter Chōjirō, who was commissioned by Zen tea master Sen Rikyū to design wares expressly for the tea ceremony'

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From Japanese 楽 (raku) meaning "comfort, music" or 良 (ra) meaning "good" combined with 公 (ku) meaning "ruler" or 久 (ku) meaning "long time".

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Results never cease to amaze me