by C. ClayWard
In an effort to impart just how special C. ClayWard's porcelain raku pots are, we asked ClayWard to tell us about the painstaking process she uses to produce them.
"I start with porcelain clay thrown on a potters wheel. If a pot is going to have a lid, I choose a fossil that will fit with the pot’s shape and then throw a lid to fit the pot. I adjust the top of the lid so that after the pot shrinks (during drying and then during firing) the fossil will still fit. The pieces are trimmed and then I hand paint the design before the pot is dry (which means I can’t draw it first or it will dent the clay). When the pot is hard, but not yet completely dry, I burnish it with a polished stone to seal the surface and give the pot its satin finish. The pot is then left to dry thoroughly and is bisque-fired in an electric kiln.
Great care is taken at all stages. For instance, if the stone used for burnishing has a rough spot, it can scratch the porcelain, marring the surface. I collect most of the fossilized bone I use at Calvert Cliffs, Maryland along the Chesapeake Bay.
The piece is fired a second time in a raku kiln on a hot, still day (usually those code red or orange days where it is recommended you stay indoors.) Even the slightest breeze is detrimental. I fire one pot at a time in the raku kiln until it glows with heat. I cover as much of my skin as possible, wearing a pair of goggles and a respirator.
The vessel is taken out of the kiln with specialized tongs and gloves similar to welder’s mitts and is set on a stand. I spray the hot pot with a metallic sienna-colored mixture, which is caustic in its raw form (hence covering skin, goggles and respirator) and pray that no breeze will stir. Porcelain does not like to be quickly heated and especially does not like being quickly cooled. Spraying a portion of the pot causes uneven cooling, which can cause the pot to crack; however, it is certain to crack and be ruined if a breeze flows gently over the stressed clay form. I then carefully lay horsehair, collected from my horses, onto the piece. The horsehair burns and squiggles, leaving a carbon trail burned into the clay body. I have about 3 minutes to spray and lay the horsehair on the vessel before it cools to the point that it will no longer leave a carbon trail. While the inside of the pot is still hot, I drop dried grass clippings into the pot and put a brick over the opening to trap the smoke inside which darkens the interior.
After the pot cools, I clean off the "char" from the burning horsehair. I then wax and buff the piece to protect it from handling and to give it a lustrous finish. The lidded pieces then have the fossilized bone glued on. Because there is no glaze on my "Cave Pots," they are not waterproof. Collectors either display them by themselves or add a small dried arrangement. Production is very limited as there only a small number of days per year in which I can do the horse-hair firing. My creative endeavors are inspired by my German and Tulpehocken Indian (Delaware) heritage and my love of anthropology, paleontology, history, animals, wildlife and the environment."
Available horse hair-fired porcelain raku by C. ClayWard |
