Raku
Raku, as a method of producing pottery, first appeared in Japan in the late sixteenth century with the potter Chojiro. Emperor Hideyosho, in memory of the great potter, bestowed a gold seal on Chojiro's son, Jokei. The word raku comes from the ideograph engraved on that seal and may be translated loosely as pleasure, enjoyment or contentment.
Raku was brought to the attention of the western world by Bernard Leach. In 1911, while living in Japan, he attended the same kind of "raku party" that has introduced many modern day potters to the raku process. In his book , "A Potter's Book" published in 1940, Leach described how he had seen potters decorating ware with strange pigments and dipping them into a thick glaze before putting the pots into a hot kiln and how, after a half hour or so, the still red hot pots were taken from the kiln and allowed to cool. Leach was amazed that the pots did not break under the extreme stresses of the high temperature and the rapid cooling. This rapid heating and cooling is the essence of Raku!
Modern Raku Work - The rapid firing and cooling of the traditional Japanese Raku process is arguably the only thing that it has in common with modern raku work. In an attempt to enliven the colours achieved in Raku firing, potters around 1960 began experimenting with glazes and with the placing of the hot pots into piles of leaves, sawdust, straw and other combustible materials (a process known as post-firing reduction). It is this relatively modern firing process which we follow to produce our own range of Raku pots.
Our Raku Pots -
For Raku we use a stoneware clay. The work is biscuit fired to 1000 degrees C. which leaves the clay "open" enough to withstand the thermal stresses of the Raku process. The work is glazed by dipping, pouring, trailing and brushing with high alkaline glazes of our own making. When the glazed pots have dried, often by putting them on top of the raku kiln while the previous load is firing, they are fired in a home-made propane "top hat" fibre kiln until the glazes melt and smooth out, although sometimes ware is deliberately under or over-fired to obtain textured or cratered surfaces. The kiln is then lifted and using gauntlets and tongs the work is 
transferred to a reduction chamber containing combustible materials, which is then covered. After a time, which varies according to the amount of reduction required but is usually around 20 minutes, the work is taken from the reduction chamber and plunged into cold water. When cool enough to handle the pots are scrubbed to remove the carbon deposits and reveal the bright colours, metallic effects and crackle finish typical of the Raku process.
The raku process is enjoyable and exciting but it subjects the pots to extreme stresses, particularly the rapid cooling by plunging the hot pot into cold water, so some breakages and cracking are to be expected. These pots are often repaired and the cracks accentuated by the use of gold or silver lacquer. These repairs should not be viewed as faults but rather as an acknowledgement of the raku process. Indeed in Japan, the birthplace of Raku, the cracks are often more revered than the pot!
Caution - Because of the crackle surface and the materials used in the glazes, Raku work should be regarded as decorative rather than functional and not used to hold food or drink.