Stoneware is a pottery fired to white heat (1200° to 1400° C). These temperatures give certain clays the qualities of melted stone. Stoneware is non-porous (even when unglazed) and rock hard, with a clear ring when struck. We fire stoneware with a normal gas system of heating and cooling (10 hours heating rising until 1250° C; 15 hours cooling).

Chinese potters of the 2nd to 6th centuries AD were the first to control Stoneware temperature in their immense "hillclimbing woodburning" kilns. With the development of pure white high-fire clays, they also invented Porcelain, distinguished from Stoneware by being translucent in thin sections.

Raku means "enjoy the day"; the technique was developed in the 16th century in Japan for producing bowls for the tea ceremony. The procedure as well as being similar to traditional Japanese pottery was and still is connected with Zen philosophy. Only recently has this technique been introduced to the west. Even if some subtle changes have been made the fundamental characteristics of the Raku tradition have been conserved.

The pots made of a special fire clay are biscuit fired in an ordinary kiln, then after this they are decorated with pigments and oxides and glazed and fired for the second time in a small portable kiln set-up outside. Once the glazes have melted (about 900°C), the pots, glowing red hot, are drawn from the kiln and placed in a hole or in a container full of combustibles (leaves, paper, wood shavings….) in order to produce a reducing atmosphere lacking oxygen. Next the pots are cooled in water. All these processes cause the colour of the glazes to change also producing lustre, iridescence and crackle making each piece unique and unrepeatable.

Other experimental forms of Raku are being developed in the our collection; one of these is Naked Raku. The technique developed about ten years ago, is very similar to traditional Raku, with a difference in that the finished piece has no glazed surface. When the piece is quenched in water, the glaze layer is shed off the piece like a thin eggshell. This occurs because between the biscuit and the glaze there is a layer of slip, which during the second firing does not adhere properly to the already fired pot. In this way the smoke which colours the crackle in the glaze does so also to the underlying opaque and porous body.