Anagama: Workshops and Raku

Wood-Firing News < JULY 2010 >

'MY ANAGAMA BUILDING'

My work is as usual in my secret wood. The groundwork for a new anagama foundation is done, kiln bricks are ready but I am not in a great hurry to finish. I am building a small Raku kiln and fire my tea bowls this month.
I would like to work quietly in the 'Hermit's Wood'. That's why my kiln location is not mentioned but more images from the wood will be uploaded on 'Anagama Blog' instead.

'Czech Project 2010 Abandoned'

   I had my 'Raku Workshop' weekend in the Czech Republic. I gave lectures, demos and built 2 Raku kilns (one instant and other permanent) at 'Jurta' in early April. All tea bowls were made from the local raw clay and fired in the newly built Raku kilns. It was modest attendance of 20 participants but a great sucess.
   Wood-fire Project 2010 by 'Jurta' seemed to be facing a great difficulty for future funding from E.U. It was just another results by the organizer's wishful thinking, And the the following project is now abandoned.
   JULY 4-18: Project 'Anagama Salamander' - Kiln Building
I will be constructing another Anagama of my design during the 2 week ceramic symposium in 4 - 18 July. There also will be activities like demonstrations, lectures by guest potters, wood-firing with existing wood-fire kilns, video-shows and excursions for all participants.
   October : Firing 'Anagama Salamander' - Wood-firing

What is Raku?

    'Raku' is a Japanese word that can be translated as meaning "enjoyment". It can be said that 'Raku' is the direct result of the collaboration between the famous tea-master Rikyu and the roof-tile maker Chojiro.
    During the Civil War in late 16th Century Japan, the feudal lord, Hideyoshi gave an ideograph of 'Raku' engraved on a gold seal to Chojiro, who adopted the word as his family title.
    What makes 'Raku' unique is the use of low-fired clay and glazes in a small quick-firing kiln. Indeed Chojiro is said to have been the first to produce, in 1580, a low-fired glazed pottery which involved putting the tea bowls into, and taking them out of, a red-hot muffle kiln, rather than waiting for the kiln to cool.
    When the glazes have melted, the bowls are removed from the kiln. As they cool, the glazes are exposed to oxidation and reduction, and the resultant diversity of delicate and muted colours renders each pot unique. The rawness of the clay and the gentle nature of the glaze create the opportunity to achieve extremely subtle variations of colour.

(The six images above are all well-known masterpieces by Chojiro.)

    'Raku' bowls are made from refractory clay, which is able to withstand the extreme thermal shocks to which it is exposed in the firing process. The clay is not hard-fired, and therefore the bowls are relatively fragile and porous until sealed by use with tea, or by the application of oil. Nevertheless, the body is an excellent thermal insulator and the Japanese consider it ideal for drinking hot green tea.
    Couple this with the infinite variations of understated colour and texture through which each bowl each tells a story, and it is easy to see why this firing process became so widely acclaimed and appropriately named as 'Raku', or enjoyment.
    Chojiro's tea bowls usually have their individual names; some poetic and some witty were given by successive owners. We can see how those bowls have been treated as priceless treasures for centuries.