Red Sea Raku

Naked Raku pottery fired with ferric chloride. 8x5inch.
Unique one of a kind raku pottery vessel. Perfect gift as ornamental, decorative vase or other non-food use. Dry clean only.

Terra sigillata is applied to wheel-thrown pottery and polished to produce a sheen on the exterior. Ferric chloride is then applied along with a few other combustible materials and fired in a raku kiln and sometimes in an aluminum foil saggar. While at max temperature, the piece is pulled out and various reactive materials such as salt and sugar are splashed on the hot surface to produce unexpected effects from the heat-induced reactions. After cooling, wax or other sealant is applied in fine layers to seal the results.

Ferric-chloride firing is a unique raku firing process I enjoy thoroughly. The effects of firing ferric-chloride at these temperatures are organically random, unique and impossible to reproduce. Each firing adds to the individual characteristics of a piece.

Raku pottery is created with relatively low temperature firing at 600-900 F. As the clay does not vitrify, the raku vessel is neither food-safe nor watertight. Only dry cleaning should be done with a feather duster without any cleaning agents or chemicals and kept out of the elements.