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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Taupou, post: 12011, member: 45&quot;]<u>Raku</u> (more correctly called <i>post-firing reduction, </i>or <i>American raku</i>, but few people other than potters recognize what that is)is a firing technique, usually credited to American potter Paul Soldner.&nbsp; </p><p><u><br /></u></p><p><u>Raku</u> is also a Japanese traditional type of pottery, which looks nothing like American raku, but it was Soldner&#039;s attempt to make Japanese raku pottery, and his subsequent variations in technique, that led to his development of American raku in 1960, or what most people (except in Japan) now just call raku.</p><p><br /></p><p>Basically, American raku, or post-firing reduction, involves taking glazed pottery directly from a red-hot kiln, and sealing it in a container of combustible material, like shredded paper, dried leaves, hay...or any number of variations that potters have tried.&nbsp; When the oxygen in the container is used up (reduced) by the fire, a chemical reaction occurs and molecular oxygen from the glazes and clay body is then utilized.&nbsp;&nbsp; As a result, glazes change, often creating a metallic, irridescent, or luster effect, and the unglazed clay body turns black. </p><p><br /></p><p>Here are a couple web pages by Paul Soldner himself, talking about raku:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.paulsoldner.com/essays/raku_process.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.paulsoldner.com/essays/raku_process.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.paulsoldner.com/essays/raku_process.html</a></p><p><a href="http://www.paulsoldner.com/essays/American_Raku.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.paulsoldner.com/essays/American_Raku.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.paulsoldner.com/essays/American_Raku.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Endless variations in specific techniques have been developed by potters all over the world, since the first pots were made by Soldner and his followers, but this is the essence of what it is.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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