The man has always been shaping clay since ancient times but almost by chance he discovered that the clay in touch with fire becomes stronger and compact: POTTERY. RAKU technique, original of Japan and known since XVI century, has been used and shaped by ceramists all around the world to create a special kind of ornamental pottery which today has got nothing to do with the traditional "tea ceremony" which it belongs to. RAKU needs earth, water, wind, fire and a lot of desire of experimenting. The materials you need to realize RAKU are: refractory clay of different colors, glaze, oxids, a kiln and inflammable substances such as paper, sawdust.... After a first baking with an electric kiln the hand-made piece, called biscuit, is decorated with special glazes of different colours and then it's baked a second time in a special gas kiln at a temperature of 850/900 c° for about 1 hour. At a culminant moment, when the glazes mix, you take out the white-hot object with gloves and pliers. You leave the object to the open air for a few minutes (oxidization) and then you put it into a kettle full of inflammable materials (reduction). In the end you take out the object still hot and you gently dip it into the water to give steadiness to the colouring. The decorative effect (craquelle) that is obtained in accordance with the type of the clay, the oxids and the temperature used makes Raku a fascinating and creative technique.

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