vince pitelka on wed 31 may 00
> There seems a lot of people trying to do Raku pottery in America.
> I am ignorant of technical difference between the Japanese Raku and the
> American Raku.
> But I feel they are not the same thing. I wonder if someone pinpoint what
> specifically
> makes the American style Raku different from the Japanese version of Raku
> pottery.
Aiko -
The important thing is that Japanese raku was never a static thing. With
the evolution of the Raku family and their tea ceremony wares, they did many
kinds of work. One particular kind involved firing pots one at a time in a
small charcoal-fired kiln, removing them red hot, and quenching them in
water. Most of us have hear how Bernard Leach experienced this at a party
in Japan, and it turned him into a potter. He brought that particular
technique to the West, and Hal Riegger and Paul Soldner came up with the
idea of post-firing reduction, as an interpretation of old raku wares, where
the glaze crazing becomes stained dark. It was like instant age, with added
visually dramatic contrasts of smoked black against the glaze colors.
So, the sensible way to look at it is that American raku is as a creative
adaptation of one particular kind of work done by potters of the Raku
family. Other potters all over Japan have done work influenced by the Raku
family, so it is not unusual at all that potters elsewhere in the world
should be so strongly influenced by this work.
My son Morgan has done extensive research in this area in Japan, and if you
have further questions I expect he could answer them. You can reach him at
mpitelka@princeton.edu
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Home - vpitelka@dekalb.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
Aiko Ichimura on wed 31 may 00
Hi All,
There seems a lot of people trying to do Raku pottery in America.
I am ignorant of technical difference between the Japanese Raku and the
American Raku.
But I feel they are not the same thing. I wonder if someone pinpoint what
specifically
makes the American style Raku different from the Japanese version of Raku
pottery.
Curious in DC
Aiko Ichimura
NW DC 20036 USA
aikop@erols.com
Diane G. Echlin on wed 31 may 00
Aiko,
I have a feeling you've opened a can of worms here! :) There are purists in this
field, as there are about "handmade," etc. Anyway, my understanding is that
traditional Japanese raku does not get any post-firing reduction in cans. It is
also my understanding (somebody please correct me if necessary) that post firing
reduction was first done by Paul Soldner back in the '60's. I think one other
major difference was the type of glazes used: traditional (by this I mean the
original) raku glazes were either red or black, whereas here in America, and I'm
sure elsewhere, glazes span the spectrum and even mirror the spectrum!
I'm sure you will receive many posts about what raku is and isn't, and I look
forward to the dialog!
Di
Aiko Ichimura wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> There seems a lot of people trying to do Raku pottery in America.
> I am ignorant of technical difference between the Japanese Raku and the
> American Raku.
> But I feel they are not the same thing. I wonder if someone pinpoint what
> specifically
> makes the American style Raku different from the Japanese version of Raku
> pottery.
>
> Curious in DC
> Aiko Ichimura
> NW DC 20036 USA
> aikop@erols.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Pat/Kent on thu 1 jun 00
Aiko,
I am not an expert on Japanese raku. But if Steve Branfman is tuned into
this thread, maybe he would be so kind as to shed some light on the . 8-)
Waiting and working until Friday evening, when my chest will (hopefully!)
join my head in increasing its size, when my first show as a featured artist
will open!
Pat Porter
pporter@4dc.net
http://www.geocities.com/windy_pines_2000/index.html
----- Original Message -----
From: "Aiko Ichimura"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2000 3:18 AM
Subject: Japanese Raku & American Raku. different animals?
> Hi All,
>
> There seems a lot of people trying to do Raku pottery in America.
> I am ignorant of technical difference between the Japanese Raku and the
> American Raku.
> But I feel they are not the same thing. I wonder if someone pinpoint what
> specifically
> makes the American style Raku different from the Japanese version of Raku
> pottery.
>
> Curious in DC
> Aiko Ichimura
> NW DC 20036 USA
> aikop@erols.com
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Mike Gordon on thu 1 jun 00
Hi,
This question brings back a few memories from college days at College of
Arts and Crafts in Oakland,Ca.A grad student was experimenting with a
(Japanese) raku process. The idea was to reduce the tea cup in water and
bring it out while still warm and add the tea. I can see how this would
be rather hard to do with the American way of adding pine needles,
sawdust,etc. to reduce. Kinda dirty for tea drinking. Mike
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