Learn all about the Raku firing process, from its origin in 16th Century Japan through to its fiery transformation in mid-20th Century North America into what is most widely recognised as Raku firing today.

The morning will focus on traditional, Japanese-style techniques and materials, with participants using slips and glazes to decorate tea-bowls in either the Aka (red) or Kuro (black) Raku styles. These tea-bowls will be fired to temperatures much hotter than Western-style Raku and, after being drawn glowing red-hot from the kiln, are left to cool in the open air.

In the afternoon we will move to the more dramatic Western-style of Raku firing. This will involve the decoration of pots using copper-bearing glazes which, after firing, will be plunged into buckets of sawdust, bursting into flames and producing an intense smoky atmosphere to produce deep blacks and dramatic flashes of colour.