Raku Ceramics
A technique with its origins in small scale vessels made for the tea ceremony in late 16th century Japan. In contemporary raku the glazed pots are removed from the kiln while still glowing hot and placed in a closed container filled with combustible material. Smoke penetrates the glazed surface which is designed to crackle.  In `Naked Raku` pots are burnished and biscuit fired before glaze firing. ab_RAKU 1

As the pots cool down in the smoking chamber the applied slip and glaze fall off revealing random crackle patterns burnt into the clay surface. Raku firing is between 850-950*C.

Sagger Firing
A sagger is a lidded container used to contain and isolate a pot during firing. Saggers were originally used by early Chinese potters to protect their celadon wares from fly ash during wood firing. Today their use is exactly the reverse: saggers are used to contain fumes around a pot enabling it to pick up colour. Ingredients used in sagger firing include wood shavings, salt and copper

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carbonate. I combine these with seaweed and mussel shells from the local beach. When these organic materials are subjected to a firing 800*C they transfer blooms of natural colours and textures to the pot.

Functional Stoneware and Porcelain
my functional ceramics are hand thrown using porcelain and fine stoneware clays. The refined forms are glazed and fired to 1260*C in an electric Kiln. Decoration is kept to a minimum. I use

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traditional craft skills where all the elements of the pot are integral with each other creating harmony and balance.