December 15 - Raku Firing

On Thursday I assisted Greg with a raku firing at Central Cabarrus High School.  I'm always amazed at the enthusiasm of the students.  They are focused, intent, and involved in their art.

We were there early (yes, I was there early!) and spent the whole day firing the kiln.  It was a windy day and the sun quickly retreated as the clouds banked in on us.  There were several points during the day that we were glad to have the kiln to huddle around.  Suddenly the sun would pop out and for a while all was well.

The students had some amazing results and their teacher, Ms. Dauphinais was understandably proud.  Unfortunately I didn't get photos of most of the finished work because I was slack and it got packed up as soon as it was cool.  I would have loved to share some of those pieces here.

If you ever need a boost in your creativity, or even your general attitude, go do a raku firing at a high school.  You can't help but be energized by the experience.

Setup.

Briefing.

Brick pad to place hot pots.

Simple kiln with weed burner.

First load out.

Inside the kiln.

Teaching.

Dramatic results.

Sidewalk chalk during firing.

Next load waiting.

Waiting for the cans.

A sunny break in the clouds.

Greg talking to a student.

Smokin' cans.

Packing the pots.

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