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About Raku
People often ask me why I choose the old-fashioned pottery technique Raku, when I could just put the pieces in a modern electrical kiln, and push a button. But when I hand someone a piece, and they feel its satin-like surface in their hands and see the beautiful crackles and deep glazing, they begin to appreciate the unique and quiet beauty of Raku ware.
Raku is a very old and simple, but demanding pottery technique, which has its origins in Japan. Initially it was used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony “Chado”, where the tea was served in simple rustic tea bowls. Under the influence of Zen Buddhism, the tea ceremony reached artistic heights in the 1500-hundreds, and the ultimate goal of the ceremony was now to achieve a state of complete peace of mind. Thus Raku became part of a sophisticated and esthetical environment.
Masters, whose products have been studied and recreated through centuries, formed the Japanese Raku tradition. It is still seen as one of the highest art forms in Japan, and the small bowls from a famous master’s hand brings in large sums of money, even today.
However, European and American potters began to make Raku in the fifties, firstly attempting to copy the Japanese tradition, but along the way they developed new techniques and expressions. In my own work, I find that I often bring the original style something that has its roots in Nordic traditions.
Raku is made with a very simple selection of materials and is fired in an outdoor kiln. The results have an incredible intensity and variation of colour and texture. Usually crackled glazing is seen as a mistake, but in Raku the crackles are desirable, because they create depth and a transforming colour finish.
The creation of my Raku ware begins with the slow and concentrated work with the clay and the shape. After this controlled phase, it is a real relief to surrender the pieces to the higher powers and to give in to all the small coincidences, which can help create the unique pieces. The direction of the wind and the level of humidity also affect the final results, and the weather thus plays a big role. On a chilly September day in the cold North, it can be brilliant sunshine, but it can also become windy or rainy, so the firing has to be postponed.
When the temperature in the kiln has reached 1030 degrees Celsius, the pieces have been fired for long enough, and the kiln is opened.
In the next few minutes the red-hot pieces are lifted out in a carefully planned choreography, with the help of my three assistants. This is the most crucial moment in the creation of a Raku piece, because it is in danger of cracking due to the shock of being exposed to the cold air outside.
Then the pieces are placed in a sawdust pit where the after-firing takes place. It is extremely important that they are buried completely in the sawdust while they cool down. The sawdust shelters the pieces from oxygen, and thus allows a reduction process in the glaze where the colours change. Some of the pieces are left there until they are completely cold, and their colours can change entirely. Others are pulled out in the fresh air after a short while, and yet others are doused with quartz sand to stop the colours from changing as quickly as possible.
Finally the blackened pieces are dug out of the sawdust and are scrubbed clean with water, soap, steel wool and a lot of elbow grease, and the final results emerge. There they stand, oozing new life, and we study and discuss them eagerly.
Some of them did not survive the journey from the hot kiln to the sawdust pit, but some of the ones that did, are now here at Galeria Krabbe from April 20 to May 26.
Den form for keramik der bliver præsenteret i Galería Krabbe i tidsrummet 20. april – 26. maj af den danske keramiker Karin Sauer er den første af sin art her i området.
Keramikken, som går under betegnelsen Raku, er en enkel men også krævende teknik som stammer fra 1500 – tallets Japan.
Med et simpelt udvalg af materialer, er det muligt at opnå en utrolig intensitet og mangfoldighed i farver og stoflighed, som ikke kan opnås tilsvarende på andre måder. Almindeligvis anses krakeleringer i glasuren
som en fejl, men i raku er det netop krakeleringerne, der er eftertragtelsesværdige, fordi de skaber dybde og farvespil.
Det særlige ved teknikken er, at emnerne bliver taget ud af ovnen, når de er rødglødende, hvorpå de bliver anbragt i savsmuld. Her sker der en efterbrænding, der ændrer farver og glasur, så det enkelte emne bliver helt unikt.
Karin Sauer fortæller, at når det lykkes, opstår der en dialog mellem rakuens egenrådige krakeleringer og den geometri hun har nedlagt i objektet.
Dialogen mellem det forfinede og sarte udtryk og det rå og voldsomme kan næsten blive mytisk eller arketypisk fortælling.
......Karin Sauer is our guestartist from Denmark,
...Dansk keramik i Galería Krabbe
