Raku Firing at RCS

Location: Raku firings will be hosted at our sister-studio With Deb Schwartzkopf

Rat City Studios
2410 SW 106th Street
Seattle, WA 98146

What is Raku?
The raku technique used at RCC, we wil fire the kiln until it is bright red hot and then take glowing glazed ceramics out of the kiln. We will place them in metal containers with combustible materials such as wood chips, sawdust or newspaper. A tight lid will be placed on the hot pot inside the container. This technique will help develop a myriad of colors within the glaze, crackle patterns, metallic surfaces, as well as a fun unpredictable experience glazing pots!

Are Raku pots food safe?
Raku glazes are never food safe because they are not durable glass and often have high metal content. Raku glazes are also rarely watertight. Some pieces that meet the glaze standards may still not really be safe for use because of hollows, pits or holes in the clay itself, under the glaze. Raku pots are for enjoying the process as well as the artwork on a fireplace mantel or as a showpiece.

Raku Firing
Be prepared to chill while we fire the kiln. Staff will fire kilns and you will be able to pull your pot(s) from the hot kiln. If you want help pulling the red hot pots from the kiln, a staff person will help you. After the pots cool, we will further cool them in water and scrub off soot. This will bring out the color of the glazes!

Come Prepared
To you will need cotton clothing, hair ties, and a strong heat tolerance. The area will be smokey as we put pots in metal cans and reduce them with burning combustibles. You may want to bring a mask as the smoke bothers some folks. This is an active environment where attention to heat, people, and processes is needed. It’s a blast!