"The Odd Likeliness of Ordinary Miracles"
Helen Green Ceramix Pit-firings and Raku
Ritual Firings - Pit-firing & Raku, two distinct types of firing :
For Helen, raku and pit-firings are always a kind of ritual performance, and always participatory events. Many delicately crafted objects are handed over to the uncertainties of a unique kiln atmosphere and the result is an exciting transformation.
Our Annual pit-firing Ritual Grande Cuisson en Fosse
Fired for 12 hours in a pit, these objects take on their colours when they are incandescent, as the pores open. The colours are fixed when the pots cool off and are thus “painted with fire”!
Our pit-firings are unique ceramic experiences, both participatory and meditative, where considerable care and attention must be brought to each step in the process. Only the colours are left to the whims of a 12 hour long fire.
Each piece is white when it goes in but when it comes out it has been marked by elements animated in the flames, (smoke, banana skins, copper and algae). The cooling process traps this tableau in the very pores of the pieces.
Pit-firing is considered an ‘alternative’ method of firing ceramics as the firing atmosphere is far from as controllable as in most modern kilns. It is the opportunity to experiment and celebrate the ‘magic’ of chemistry in nature.
The preparation time provides a moment to create clay ‘kiln gods’ out of fresh clay, and enjoy the musings of a night under the stars around an open fire.
To respect the regeneration of nature, we hold our pit-firing events just once per year.
Raku rituels - these are faster firings, less than 2 hours, with effects given thanks to a thermal shock.
"In the spirit of raku, there is the necessity to embrace the element of surprise. There can be no fear of losing what was once planned and there must be an urge to grow along with the discovery of the unknown. In the spirit of raku: make no demands, expect nothing, follow no absolute plan, be secure in change, learn to accept another solution and, finally, prefer to gamble on your own intuition. Raku offers us deep understanding of those qualities in pottery which are of a more spiritual nature, of pots by man willing to create objects that have meaning as well as function." - Paul Soldner, 1973
“Raku” refers to an alternative method of firing ceramics. It is a traditional tea-cup making technique in Japan (involving throwing, glazing and plunging the incandescent pot into water), which was adopted and transformed by Paul Soldner. Raku kilns are fuelled with gas or wood and are often quite make-shift, as they are made to suffer repeated thermal shocks and the side-effects thereof.
After glazing, the firing process takes about an hour. The incandescent objects are taken out of a hot kiln (about 950°C), which is exciting to behold. With such a thermal shock the work can be blackened in saw-dust or the glaze can crackle and ‘sing’ or undergo a reduction reaction rendering shiny metallic finishes... The pieces then cool off and the effects are trapped. It is therefore the genesis of the raku object which defines it. For me, raku pieces should be made with such spontaneity that gestures and impulses are palpable. We should abandon expectations and be attentive to what truly emerges and in a celebration of the unexpected we should appreciate the odd likeliness of ordinary miracles.
