Covers such topics as the history and philosophy of raku, types of clay, forming techniques, firing, glazes and decoration. Types of kilns and kiln construction are also fully explained and the book includes a gallery of works from around the world along with updated clay and glaze recipes.

Learn the key techniques, tips, and tricks for pit, barrel, raku, and wood firing. Fall in love with flames, wood, and the effect that unique firing methods have on pottery. Move beyond the electric kiln and explore the dramatic surfaces of raku, the flashes of salt firing, and the rustic look of ash rivulets. In this book, Lindsay Oesterritter provides a crash course in the most accessible methods of alternative firing. Raku firing requires minimal equipment and can easily be fueled with a standard propane tank. Likewise, pit and barrel firing do not require much in the way of initial investment. Yet all these techniques provide an immediate glimpse into the magic of firing. Bright reds and blues, dramatic black and white crackle, even metallic luster are instantly possible. For more experienced potters and studios looking to offer more, Oesterritter also explores wood-fired kilns. Drawing on years of experience and extensive interviews with fellow wood-fire potters, there is no comparable resource on the market. Features on top potters working today get to the heart of specialty techniques and asides show firing variations and traditional kilns in different cultures around the world. A gallery of showstopping work from a diverse group of artists round out the package and inspire you to get started.

Raku is an ancient ceramics technique enjoying a modern-day renaissance. This groundbreaking new entry in the highly successful 500 series demonstrates the vitality and invention of today's raku ceramics. Objects including cups, plates, bowls, vases, and statuary contribute to this international gallery of work juried by Jim Romberg, one of the leading practitioners and teachers of raku in the world."

Advanced techniques in raku firing; covers production, kiln construction, glaze formulation, tools and more.

In Raku: Investigations into Fire, David Jones examines contemporary work in the light of the three hundred and fifty year old aesthetic that led to its development. He demonstrates how this can still inform current expression. This book explores the movements of though and the transmission of knowledge across continents as the sparse details concerning this seductive technique were communicated. The processes characteristic of Raku particularly crackle and lustre development are examined and explained. Culminating in a questioning analysis of the contribution made by Raku to current practical and philosophical explorations into nature of clay and fire, this book is lavishly illustrated with images of new work and experiments with flame. AUTHOR: David Jones is currently a senior lecturer in the ceramics department at the University of Wolverhampton. His Raku fired ceramics have been exhibited and are in collections in Europe, Japan and USA. He is a fellow of the Craft Potters' Assoc. 200 colour photos

Demonstrating four different clay-firing techniques, this book illustrates the diverse results that each can produce.

Learn the key techniques, tips, and tricks for pit, barrel, raku, and wood firing. Fall in love with flames, wood, and the effect that unique firing methods have on pottery. Move beyond the electric kiln and explore the dramatic surfaces of raku, the flashes of salt firing, and the rustic look of ash rivulets. In this book, Lindsay Oesterritter provides a crash course in the most accessible methods of alternative firing. Raku firing requires minimal equipment and can easily be fueled with a standard propane tank. Likewise, pit and barrel firing do not require much in the way of initial investment. Yet all these techniques provide an immediate glimpse into the magic of firing. Bright reds and blues, dramatic black and white crackle, even metallic luster are instantly possible. For more experienced potters and studios looking to offer more, Oesterritter also explores wood-fired kilns. Drawing on years of experience and extensive interviews with fellow wood-fire potters, there is no comparable resource on the market. Features on top potters working today get to the heart of specialty techniques and asides show firing variations and traditional kilns in different cultures around the world. A gallery of showstopping work from a diverse group of artists round out the package and inspire you to get started. The Mastering Ceramics series is for artists who never stop learning. With compelling projects, expert insight, step-by-step photos, and galleries of work from today’s top artists, these books are the perfect studio companions. Also available from the series: Mastering Hand Building and Mastering the Potter's Wheel.

f you’re ready to get started with Raku (formerly Perl 6), this is the book you want, whether you’re a programmer, system administrator, or web hacker. Raku is a new language—a modern reinvention of Perl suitable for almost any task, from short fixes to complete web applications. This hands-on tutorial gets you started. Author brian d foy (Mastering Perl) provides a sophisticated introduction to this new programming language. Each chapter in this guide contains exercises to help you practice what you learn as you learn it. Other books may teach you to program in Raku, but this book will turn you into a Raku programmer. Learn how to work with: Numbers, strings, blocks, and positionals Files and directories and input/output Associatives, subroutines, classes, and roles Junctions and sets Regular expressions and built-in grammars Concurrency features: Promises, supplies, and channels Controlling external programs and other advanced features

Handmade Culture is the first comprehensive and cohesive study in any language to examine Raku, one of Japan’s most famous arts and a pottery technique practiced around the world. More than a history of ceramics, this innovative work considers four centuries of cultural invention and reinvention during times of both political stasis and socioeconomic upheaval. It combines scholarly erudition with an accessible story through its lively and lucid prose and its generous illustrations. The author’s own experiences as the son of a professional potter and a historian inform his unique interdisciplinary approach, manifested particularly in his sensitivity to both technical ceramic issues and theoretical historical concerns. Handmade Culture makes ample use of archaeological evidence, heirloom ceramics, tea diaries, letters, woodblock prints, and gazetteers and other publications to narrate the compelling history of Raku, a fresh approach that sheds light not only on an important traditional art from Japan, but on the study of cultural history itself.

This book offers a detailed, color photo guide to building your own efficient, portable raku kiln. If you have ever wanted your own kiln but found it out of your price range, then this book is for you! This cheap yet sturdy model will get you started firing your own work in a short amount of time. From the design offered in this book, the possibilities are endless for building salt, soda, gas and even wood fired kilns. For beginners and experienced ceramic artists alike, this book will change the way you think about kiln building.