Raku

Raku is an ancient Japanese finishing technique that’s very different from other ceramic finishing. Typically, pots are fired in the kiln twice: once to turn raw clay into stone-like bisqueware and again to glaze and fully vitrify the clay, which makes it water tight and food safe. Each of these firings take up to a full day in the kiln, and the second takes the pieces up to around 2200°F.

In raku, it’s that second firing that changes and makes magic happen. Instead of a slow firing in a more typical electric kiln, the pots are brought to a lower temperature (1500-1800°F) in a gas kiln extremely quickly. After only about 45 minutes, the pots are taken out of the kiln while red-hot. They’re placed onto beds of combustible materials and allowed to catch fire before being covered in order to deprive the clay and glaze of oxygen, which is what creates such striking effects.

In horsehair raku, materials like animal hair and feathers are carefully placed onto the red-hot pots by hand. These materials turn to ash immediately, and the resulting carbon that’s left behind is then trapped on the surface of the pot during the reduction process.

With glazed raku, the minerals in the raw glaze interact with the carbon from the material bed during reduction to create beautiful and unpredictable metallic effects.

Due to this unique process, there are some special considerations to keep in mind when caring for your new pots.

Because raku pots are fired to a lower temperature than traditionally finished stoneware, raku pots are not water-tight or food-safe. If you’d like to use a vessel as a vase for live flowers, plastic cups of many shapes work quite well as liners. Additionally, because they are not vitrified, raku pots are more fragile. Please handle with care!

I finish all my raku vessels with micro-crystalline wax polish to protect their surfaces. Clean with a soft cloth or feather duster. Do not submerge in water or use any kind of chemical cleaner. Keep out of direct sunlight to avoid fading.

Because raku jewelry pieces are fired to lower temperatures, they are not fully vitrified, so they are slightly more fragile and intolerant to water than other ceramic jewelry. Please handle with care!

Before applying hardware, I finish my raku jewelry pieces with a generous coating of clear acrylic to protect the finish and make them comfortable against skin. Glued on metal findings are attached with 2-part epoxy.

If necessary, raku jewelry can be cleaned with a soft cloth or spot cleaned with water. Do not submerge in water or use chemical cleaners. Remove jewelry before sleeping and bathing. Store out of direct sunlight.

As someone with metal allergies, I take claims like “nickel free” and “safe for sensitive ears” very seriously. All of my jewelry findings are labeled this way by their manufacturers, but I have yet to be able to fully test them in my own ears to feel comfortable making these kinds of claims for my jewelry.

Due to the nature of ceramic jewelry, prolonged wear is not recommended regardless of metal content. The shorter period of time these earrings are meant to be worn for should not irritate sensitive ears. (I wear them myself with no issues.) However, I cannot confidently say that they’re nickel-free at this point.

I have recently begun making the switch to gold-plated and sterling silver findings on all my jewelry! My next round of raku pieces will be safe for sensitive ears :)