Art Chowder: You specialize in hand
" Dragon Prowl"
RAKU
built, one-of-a-kind sculpture. Can you
tell us about that?
GINGER: In most cases when I build
in clay I don’t use the pottery wheel
unless making parts for a sculpture. I
choose hand building made up of basic
techniques to make forms from wet
clay coils, slabs and pinch pots that are
compressed and attached together. Hand
building allows me to feel my way into
the sculpture and see what emerges.
The piece is then fired in different types
of kilns, to different temperatures,
with different glazes for different
desired surfaces.
Most of the time work is fired in electric
kilns with slow, even firing, giving
smooth, perfect results after about
12 hours. I don’t try to make perfect
pieces often. Those expectations are
becoming less and less important to me,
and I feel the imperfections or mistakes
are to be appreciated. In fact I like to be
surprised by experimenting for different
outcomes. Taking risks is exciting!
My favorite firing technique is Raku. I
find that one of ten pieces, that survives
intact, might be spectacular. It’s that
spectacular piece that allows me to let go
of the other nine. For me, that is all that
matters. Why create mediocre if you can
find spectacular!
Art Chowder: Can you fill us non-potters
in on what Raku is?
GINGER: Yes, it was explained to me that
Raku was developed in 17th century
Japan by the Raku family as a method
to produce unusual tea services for
the Emperor. It’s quick and much
more organic than firing by standard
methods. With Raku you sculpt or throw
something then fire it halfway to bisque
fire in an electric kiln. At this point you
glaze with specialized glazes that allow
for lustrous variations and metallic and
coppery surfaces.
Then you put it into the Raku kiln, which
is set up outside in the open air. Propane
heat is forced to 1860 degrees in about
20 to 30 minutes versus 12 hours. The
glaze boils and flows. It might stay where
you applied it; it might not. When it
reaches temperature, it is see-through red/
white-hot. You use tongs to take it out
of the kiln and place it in a trash can full
of combustibles (sawdust, newspaper,
dried leaves or flowers) and it bursts into
flames. Everywhere the glaze doesn’t run
pulls the black from the smoke into the
pieces. The process is normally something
you do with a group of other Raku
enthusiasts because it’s extremely exciting
and always fun. LOTS of people love fire!
**She grins and hollers** “WOO HOO
RAKU!”
I’ve taken special trips to the beaches of
Hawaii twice to fire with other crazy Raku
artists — a group known as Hawaiian
Craftsman. Firing techniques such as
Raku allow chances for the unknown to
take place. It’s a release. After you’ve
spent hours, days, and months creating
a piece, you give it over to the clay gods
and let the fire take it away. Whatever you
get, you get. It keeps me from expecting,
and attaching to my pieces. For me it’s a
very Zen process and I love it!
May | June 2018
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