Raku Taster – 2nd September 2024

Having only got back from our Holiday in the South of France after midnight on Sunday, I was up early Monday morning getting ready for the class. The weather did not look great but there was a slight warm wind, so a T-Shirt day it was.  We were lucky and the rain held off and it ended up a pleasant day to do some Raku firing. No pressure at all but we had Chris and Justine from Cariad Glass, who had been told how fabulous the taster experience was, so we had a reputation to uphold.

All our students have the choice to be excluded from photos and social media, so although the class looks small we had 5 students in total, We very rarely go over our optimal number of 6, as we like everyone to get as much of our attention and guidance as possible. We did the usual welcome, safety briefing and history of Raku talk and then straight into choosing some pots. Included in the price, each student gets to choose two bisqued pots that we have made, burnished and ready for decorating.

The class is shown a number of different techniques they can use to decorate and glaze their pots. Some students then opted to purchase a third put at a nominal price to decorate as they wanted to try all three popular styles. After some deliberations and discussions, the students started preparing and glazing their pots.  This class seemed to like the copper glaze, and we often say simple is sometimes more when it comes to Raku. We have been getting some good naked Raku results, and everyone wanted to try this method too.

After eating their packed lunches, we fired up the kiln and had a great time firing and finishing off the pots. The students were also taught how to clean off the excess carbon, seal and polish naked and horsehair Raku.  We had a great day and some fabulous, finished pots.

BL – I’ve had a wonderful day all thanks to Adrian and Karen

JD – This has been an amazing day from start to finish. Superb teacher, excellent facilities, fantastic results and incredible value for money – we will be back 😊

KC – Absolutely fantastic – thank you

CD – Amazing – got me inspired. Will be back. Really inspired thank you