Raku is a dynamic pottery firing process unlike any other in the world of pottery. Once my wheel thrown pottery is bisqued and glazed the pieces are Raku fired to between 1850-2000 degrees F in as little as 30 minutes. Once the glaze has reached the desired maturity the piece is then pulled from the kiln with tongs and placed into a chamber with something like newspaper, sawdust, wood shavings or other burnable materials. The lid is then closed on the chamber and the piece of pottery will be bathed in an atmosphere of smoke. That smoke is the secret of the Raku process since it denies oxygen to the environment the piece is in while the glaze is still at a volatile temperature. The smoke causes chemical reduction and it is through this process that the metallic nature of the oxides us