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The Pit Fire, Horse Hair, and Raku Pottery
Process
The Raku Pottery
Process
Robert Graydon's pottery is all his own original handmade artwork (raku and horse hair pottery),
with each piece of pottery signed and dated. Most of his work is wheel-thrown
stoneware or porcelain, while a small amount is hand-built from
slabs. Robert fires most of his pottery using the raku fired
process. He takes the pots red hot from the kiln using tongs or
gloves and places them in a garbage can or barrel with a nest of
straw, leaves, and pine needles. He then smothers the fire out by
placing a lid on the container. Once they have cooled, they are
removed, cleaned of ashes and burnt material, and are ready to be
sold. |
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Pit Fire and Horse Hair Firing
He also fires some of his work using the pit fire
and horse hair firing techniques. Pit firing involves burying a
group of unglazed pots in a pit, covering them with saw dust and
wood and some coloring oxides. The pile is then lit on fire and
left to burn for 12 to 24 hours, leaving the pots in a pile among
the ashes. The horse hair method involves taking the same type of
pots hot out of a kiln and throwing horse hair on the hot pots. The
hair shrivels up and burns black lines onto the white
pottery. |
Care of the
Pottery
Raku, pit fired, and horse hair fired pottery is fragile. The clay
is porous and therefore does not hold water. It is recommended to
keep them inside in a cool place out of direct sunlight. To clean
them, you may vacuum them with a soft-brush dusting attachment or
simply rinse them with water and gently blot dry. |
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