Tom Radca has worked in pottery for more than 20 years specializing in Large Raku Platters and hand-cut tiles. He says that in his first venture into making large platters, he made more than 70 of which only 8 survived. Through experimentation and determination, he figured out all the technical issues from forming through firing and shares the how-to results here. See how he does it.
Hal Riegger is considered the Father of American Raku having begun practicing the technique in the 1940’s. In his telling of Raku Then and Now, he explains his use of “postfiring reduction” that defines Western Raku, and of the Zen connection.
Discovering Naked Raku came about with Kate and Will Jacobson looking for an alternative to the drudgery of a high pressure production pottery. By “wasting” time exploring everything ceramic, they hit on the fact that flaking glaze can change a career.
Steven Branfman is probably one of the best known raku artists around today. When he demonstrated Raku at Amatlan, his lengthy seminar explored many of the possibilities that the raku technique offers. One technique he’s developed is his Inlaid Glass Technique where he rolls a soft leather-hard form over crushed glass. The effects are stunning.
All advanced techniques begin with a solid understanding of the process. John Ramer Sherrill explains how to do Successful Raku to overcome the frustrations of mastering the basics in this nuts-and-bolts recap of how to do raku. |