HOME FACILIITIES PRICING CLASSES GALLERY EVENTS PHILANTHROPY JOIN - MEMBERSHIP BOARD LINKS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11TH, 2008 RAIN OR SHINE Doors open at 4:00 pm First pot goes in at 5:00 pm Last pot goes in at 9:00 pm Event is over when last pots are done (about 10:30) TICKETS AT THE DOOR ADULTS $25.00 CHILDREN UNDER 12 $10.00 DOOR PRIZES ARE: + ONE -  Kick Wheel (VALUED @ $300) + TWO - 4 WEEK ADULT CLASSES - (VALUED @ $135 EACH) + TWO - 4 WEEK CHILDREN'S CLASSES (VALUED @ $70 EACH) + ONE - $25.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE KC CLAY GUILD + FIVE - $5.00 GIFT CERTIFICATES TO THE KC CLAY GUILD + SEVERAL PIECES OF POTTERY! + Possibly more to come! Description of Raku Night      (Western Style) Rakuyaki, or Raku, is a Japanese firing process. A bisque piece is glazed with special raku glazes. It is fired in a small gas kiln with a removable top. When the piece reaches maturity the top is removed and the glowing white hot piece is moved via long tongs to a trashcan full of combustibles. ie. newspaper, sawdust, banana peals, leaves, bark... so on. The stuff inside the trash can instantly bursts into flames and then the lid is put on the can and the piece sits in the smoldering, smoking can. This causes the glaze to change colors unevenly giving it a flash of colors. The unglazed areas absorb this smoke/carbon and are turned black. White crackle glazes absorb the carbon into the cracks making them visible. After the pieces are cooled they are removed and gently scrubbed to reveal all the colors! Please note that rakued pieces are not food safe. Keep them out of direct sunlight because the colors will fade. They are not water tight and should not be used for planting.      You can take part in this fun amazing process by coming to the KC Clay Guild's Raku Night! You get to choose a bisque piece to glaze. We fire it for you and you get to take it home that night! The whole process takes about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. You also get to choose a regular fired, already glazed, food safe piece of pottery. While you are waiting for your piece to be fired, enjoy food and drinks donated by local restaurants and guild members. When ever possible we also have live music to entertain you while you are munching on your snacks and waiting for your piece. We also have a moonwalk, cotton candy and sidewalk chalk to entertain the kids! Not only that, but we will be giving away door prizes about every 30 minutes! Everybody gets at least 1 ticket for a chance to win. For the small fee you can't beat the fun and excitement of Raku Night! If you have never been to one you have to try it at least once! And If you have been before we'll be looking forward to entertaining you again! Bisque pieces are glazed using one of our many Raku glazes. Then the glazed piece is warmed up on small gas grill. This helps the glaze dry too. Then the kiln is loaded and fired up to 2000 degrees in about 30 to 45 minutes. Then the kiln top is removed and the glowing hot pieces are quickly moved to a trashcan full of combustibles. The newspaper instantly bursts into flames and the reduction process begins. This causes the colorants to seek oxygen and come to the surface. This is a sample of what a Raku piece looks like. Some glazes come out shiny in a rainbow of colors and other come out matte. Some are smooth and some are rough. This piece was glazed with Copper Ridge. When applied thin and reduced just right, you get a sandpaper texture with a matte rainbow of colors. The thicker it is applied the heavier the texture! These pieces were glaze with White Crackle. Just 2 quick dips of glaze is all you need. For a good crackle, don't put it in to the reduction chamber too quickly. Waive it around in the air with the tongs for about 15 seconds to let the glaze cool quickly, causing it to crackle more. This piece was glazed with Red Black Blue. It was reduced too long which caused the whole thing to turn basically copper with some pearlescent qualities. Had it been removed sooner there would have been more color variations. Keep checking in as we will be adding more examples of our Raku Glazes!   BACK TO TOP