Samurai and Raku

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts had an extensive show of Samurai armer, helmets, and weapons this summer. On the surface that may not seem to have much to do with Raku pottery, but they both have deep connections with  Zen Buddhism and the Tea Ceremony. Samurai's warrior code and the Tea Ceremony's Raku bowls both grew out of Zen Buddhism. In medieval Japan militarism, aesthetics, and religion all mingled together. The masks and helmets are amazingly bizarre and imaginative. Many are so complex and impractical they must have been for ceremonies and not for warfare. Earlier in the term Jinny suggested creating 3 small masks. What better inspiration than the Samurai.

Fifth Class, July 23, Glazing and More Glazing

It has to be done, and my opinion may change, but I find glazing less enjoyable than the building and throwing. This whole class, from beginning to end was glazing. Not the quick dunking and dripping of stone ware but slow careful painting. Each color has to be checked against the test pots we already fired. Those fired practice glazes reveal the true secret colors of each bucket and bottle. A Raku firing transforms each color into surprising results. We need to carefully check each test glaze, and thoughtfully plan each color combination if we expect to have positive results. Luckily one of the potters carefully painted and recorded many of the glazes, I less carefully tried a few more, and another student labeled each finished experiment with tape. This gave us good examples to pick from. By the end of the class I had 6 pots ready to be fired. That's 2 an hour; pretty slow.

Fourth Class, July 19th Smoke and Fire

Our long wait is over. Tonight we are doing our first Raku firing! General Ginny is planning the event with the efficiency of a military campaign. We are shown the set up with the kiln the trash cans with combustibles and the water bucket. We are given our stations and duties. The kiln still needs time to get to the proper temperature. This gives us time to rip up news paper for the trash cans and fill up a large container with water. It's time to start people change into long sleeve shirts and pants, put on gloves. Unhappy with my feet. My job is to man the one of the trash cans. As the pots are taken out of the kiln they're put in the paper filled cans flames shoot up and we close back up the lids. If all of this wasn't enough fun, I have four of my pots in the firing. Luck is with me; they all turn out well. After the firing I have time to trim the pots I threw last week. I wasn't completely happy with the way their feet turned out, but I liked their overall shape.  I also altered two of the pieces; one I flattened into an oval, the other I bent the rim into waves.   

                                                             

Third Class, July 16th, Out Late

Tonight Ginny suggested we make three small masks. Sounds like a fine idea but I need to trim the pieces I did last week. I carved one and added different colors of Tera sig on each one. Not only did I trim the old pots but threw three new ones. They were larger then the ones I threw before and I made sure I left enough room for a foot. Over all a good day, but it was after 10:00 buy the time I finished cleaning up and Ginny was rushing me out the door.

Second Class, July 12th, Busy Night

I feel  a sudden wave of self imposed pressure. Our rattles are leather hard and it is time to carve a design, but I wanted to trim and throw.  Ginny carved a design of clouds and flowers inspired by Tibetan Buddhist art. She is introducing a type of finishing process called tera sig. An abbreviation for Terra Sigillata, a slip painting process that goes back to the ancient Romans and Greeks. It is a buttery ultra refined slip that when burnished will  have a high gloss finish. I am designing and carving my rattle but my mind is elsewhere. I want to trim the containers I threw last week, and throw some more pieces. The rattle is carved well enough ( I'm not completely happy with it) and I move onto trim last weeks work. The trimming went well but I didn't leave room for a foot. Trimming with out a foot is much easier to do. When finished I carved and altered the pots; trying to make them more interesting. I managed to have time to throw 3 new pieces. The Raku clay I used was less gritty and easier to throw. The pieces I threw were larger and more interesting than the week before. All in all a busy but successful night!

First Class, July 9th,2013, It Begins

For many years I've wanted to take a Raku class but could never fit it into my schedule. So you can imagine how happy I was when I finally got in. As I walk into the Craft Center I'm filled with familiar memories, but it was also a bit disorienting.  It has been a few years since I last took a class and the ceramics studio has moved while while the old one gets renovated. There are several people in the class that appear to be old friends, they seem like they have been taking pottery and Raku classes together for years. I was concerned at first that that they may be a bit clicky, but instead everyone is friendly and helpful. The class includes a friend of mine from the high school and another grad student. Ginny Gillen is our short dread locked instructor; she is very warm and approachable; a little earth mother. She gives us a short introduction to Raku and then proceeds to give a demonstration on how to make a pinch pot into a sphere, a closed container, or rattle. Several of us begin to make our own pinch pots while some of the old timers work on their slab vases and platters. I try throwing a few small containers. I was lent some Raku clay and was warned that it is particularly gritty and ruff on ones hands when thrown. The grog filled clay was abrasive but I was able to throw three small containers. A good beginning.