Firing Pottery In The Raku Style with Bob Park

Contact

Organizer: Quirky Workshops Art, Craft and Heritage Skill Courses

Name: Greystoke Craft Garden and Barns

Phone: 017684 83984

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk

Address

Greystoke
Penrith
CA11 0UT

Price Notes

£45 including fresh coffee/traybake Material Charges : £25 on the day

Direction

Just 8 mins west of M6 J40, off the A66 towards Keswick.

Details

Morning session 9.45am to 12.30pm Or Afternoon sessions 1.45pm to 4.30pm

Come and enjoy an exciting workshop experimenting in this ancient Japanese technique of glazing and firing pottery

Exciting and fast moving, using heat, sawdust, fire and smoky bins, this stunning firing technique is irresistible and very much in vogue.

Raku firing is unique and one of the most dramatic and exciting ways to fire pottery. It was developed in Japan in the 16th century for the Japanese tea ceremony. The pieces are glazed with copper based glazes, dried and put directly into a hot kiln outside for half an hour at a temperature of approximately 1000°c. They are then put into a reduction chamber – a nest of sawdust covered with a metal cover- and this atmosphere and temperature changes (‘redox’) produces the wonderfully colourful, lustrous copper, blue and green finishes associated with Raku Pottery.

Every result is different, nothing is predictable and happy accidents are frequent. In fact, Raku literally translates into 'Happiness in the accident!' You will be using raku glazes combined with oxides, copper wire, leaves and ferns, seaweed and horse hair!  

Bob and Denise will arrive with a selection of bisque fired pots in varying styles, that he has made and fired in the weeks prior to the course -  providing 3 pots for each student.  It is this preparedness that enables such a course to be run in a morning or afternoon. The materials charge of £25 (payable directly to the tutor) covers the cost of making these pots, as well as the glazing and firing costs during your session. Bob and Denise will distribute pots so each student has a similar selection of shapes at the start of each class. 

Event Details