Raku is such a gift!

I look inside myself, touch the clay and guide it through its transformation from raw material to finished piece. I am transformed by the process of giving shape to my inner vision.

When friends partake in the fascinating experience of an outdoor Raku firing they witness the transformation as fire fuses clay, glaze and inspiration. Hornby's beauty nurtures the process.
Some ideas are very compelling to me. Even though they seem out of reach I feel a strong motivation to keep on working until the idea has taken form. When I am in my studio on Hornby, surrounded by nature, I view my life as a channel for the creation of ceramic art pieces. My sense of fulfillment is enriched when people are touched by my pottery.

 A bit about raku firing process: The glazed pieces are placed in an outdoor kiln usually a metal drum with kaolin insulation. A propane Tiger Torch is used to fire the kiln and bring the temperature to reach about 1800 degrees fahrenheit. The proces takes about one hour of monitoring the melting of the glaze while raising temperature slowly. When ready the kiln is lifted up and the red hot pieces are moved from the kiln using metal tongs to an enclosed container filled with crumpled newspaper and saw dust. This last part of the firing process is called reduction - flammable material will burn oxygen molecules contained in the glazes leaving a metallic sheen from the oxides. The areas with no glaze will be black from the carbon.