The History of Raku

Today I started to write a lesson plan on raku tea cups and the japanese tea ceremony.  I found another awesome website for all my pottery loving friends!  This is the site to Japan's raku museum that is located next door to the original raku family home and workshop.  There is an awesome summary of the history of raku and lots of photos of raku ware :)

http://www.raku-yaki.or.jp/e/history/index.html

ce – ram – ics:

ce – ram – ics: The art and science of making and using solid articles which have as their essential component inorganic, non-metallic materials.

The word ceramic can be traced back to the Greek term keramos, meaning "a potter" or "pottery." Keramos in turn is related to an older Sanskrit root meaning "to burn." Thus the early Greeks used the term to mean "burned stuff" or "burned earth" when referring to products obtained through the action of fire upon earthy materials. 

Ceramics can be defined as inorganic, nonmetallic materials. They are typically crystalline in nature and are compounds formed between metallic and nonmetallic elements such as aluminum and oxygen (alumina-Al2O3), calcium and oxygen (calcia - CaO), and silicon and nitrogen (silicon nitride-Si3N4).

An awesome pottery website!

I ran across a really great website by an awesome group of artists who specializes in crystalline glazes and other alternative firing methods.  There are a lot of glaze recipes too!

http://www.creativecreekartisans.com/

A ceramics teacher throws a pot with his feet!!! LOLOL

Another blended underglaze pot I made...

Here is another pot where I combined different underglazes while the piece was still wet on the wheel.  I love how the colors blend together when I do this!

A few new mini's...

Lately I have been making more miniature pieces. on the wheel.  This one was rakued (is there a past tense to raku?? lol)

I used a glaze called muddy waters on this one but it crawled on me, however I still like how it turned out :)

The broken pot revisited...

On the right is the pot I made months ago, that had imploded.  I fired it not long ago and painted it with a variety of orange, red, and yellow glazes and underglazes.  You cant even see the break, and it goes awesomely with the pots on the right, and the Virgin Mary too!

More Spooky Goodness!

I found this artist on Etsy (Ol'BlueHair'sOddities).  I love her Frankenpots and gourd dream catchers.. awesome work!

The cauldron comes off of the flames... great idea for a wheel thrown and handbuilding combo project!

One of her Frankenpots!

Dream catcher gourd (these are ceramic not real gourds)

Its October..

To get into the holiday spirit I went on a search for some clay spirits!  Check it out!

I love the ghoulish roof, and the hand-like tree!

both made by Heirloom Pottery...

I love how the pinch pots were used for the eyes!