Raku pottery firing with Julie Anderson
Local ceramics artist Julie Anderson and friends took these photos of a recent Raku firing session outside Anderson and Greg Grasso's Warehome Studio. Raku involves heating pieces of glazed pottery in an 1800-degree kiln, then transferring the pieces to piles of combustible material and covering the pile with a trashcan.
Julie Anderson and friends recently fired a few ceramic pieces in a Raku kiln outside Anderson's Warehome Studios. Here, an artist removes a red-hot pot from the Raku kiln with tongs.
A pile of newspaper catches fire outside Julie Anderson's Warehome Studio after the artist places a pot that's just come from a 1800-degree Raku kiln on the pile.
Artist and Warehome Studio co-owner Greg Grasso prepares to remove the top of a Raku kiln, exposing ceramics that have been firing at 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.
Issac Klaus transfers red-hot pottery from a Raku kiln to a combustion chamber during a Raku firing session outside Julie Anderson and Greg Grasso's Warehome Studio. On right, local photographer Morgan Peterson stands by with a lid for the chamber, and on left, local sculptor Christopher Oar photographs the firing.
Issac Klaus places a hot, Raku-fired pot on a nest of newspaper while Morgan Peterson, crouching at right, gets ready to cool the pot with wet newspaper, hoping to make a crackle effect on its surface.
When the Raku firing process goes well and the artist adds alterations, a piece of ceramic art fired in a Raku kiln can look like this work created by Julie Anderson in 2006. The piece is carved, Raku-fired and embellished with beads and macrame.
