Last Class

I had my last raku class today. I'm taking some time off to travel (hopefully) and won't be back teaching at the RAC until Winter Session at the earliest. I just got home and I'm already sad. The students are so great and we did so much this year.

I didn't get any action shots of our raku class this session. We needed all hands on deck for the firings. We also did some new stuff that I'd never tried before. All of our firings got great stuff. My students broke with tradition, eschewing the shiny "copper penny" glazes, for matte-er surfaces and crawly alligator surfaces. They really went for it!

My saggar class was the same way (many were the same students ...) and really brought a lot to the class. Literally in many cases. Armloads of ferns and plants, bags of grass clippings, seaweed, fruit peels and you name it went into the saggars. Many of the pieces were artworks in their own right before they went into the saggar.

I'll post some highlights in pictures.

I don't seem to have any pics of the kiln actually firing. Just a close up of a pot in the kiln. For those who are not conversant with such things, the material the kiln is primarily made of is called kaowool.

I have some newer pics in my camera I will post soon. I am starting to wear down from class, the coffee is wearing off, and the typos are getting surreal.

MPK