| Artist, Ruth Apter is happiest on the days that she is doing the final raku firing of her pieces. For her, it is pure magic to watch the colors and designs come to life while being manipulated by heat, wind, smoke and water. On a recent windy day during the raku firing, the sawdust was blazing away as it stuck to the sides of every pottery animal as they was taken from the reduction barrel to be quenched in water. As the pieces cooled, she could see the amazing colors and patterns the flames had created on the glazed surface of each animal. That is the magic of Raku. Each piece is removed from her custom made kiln at 1850 to 1950 degrees and smoked or reduction fired in whole horse's oats. The crackle and copper glazes are a wondrous result of this exciting and somewhat dangerous process. The glazes that have copper in them vary a great deal. That is part of the delightful aspect of raku. During the winter the copper matte is more blue/silver. Raku pottery has unique characteristics. No two pieces will ever be alike. |
