Raku

Horsehair Raku is not glazed.
Instead, the piece is coated several times
in a very fine liquid clay called terra sigillata
when it is dry but before the first firing.
This coating is burnished after each application.
After bisque firing, the piece is fired
as for glazed Raku, but instead of being placed
in the combustion chamber, it is placed
where I can get to it easily, and individual strands
of horse tail hair are applied.
The heat from the pot burns the hair,
which creates the squiggles and smoke marks.
No two horsehair pieces are ever alike,
and they are very fragile until cool
because of the sudden change in temperature
from the kiln to the outdoor air.

This vase was made by a process called "Naked Raku".
The piece is coated with terra sigillata and burnished as
for Horsehair Raku, but before the Raku firing, it is
dipped in a thick clay coating. This clay begins to crack
as it dries, and cracks more when placed in the kiln.
Sometimes Naked Raku pieces explode in the kiln
because of the moisture absorbed by the bisqued pot.
After firing, the piece is placed in a reduction chamber
where the smoke from burning sawdust and paper seep
through the cracks in the clay coating. This clay is then
scraped off when the piece is cool to reveal the
mosaic-like black and white surface.
Each Naked Raku piece is one-of-a-kind.