Past Exhibition

Raku and Alternative Firings

Works by the Students of Laura Demme

February 28 – March 14, 2014

Artist Statement

Raku is a form that offers endless possibilities. Consistently
surprised by the results, the Raku surface speaks to me most
eloquently. The glaze sits lightly on the surface of the clay, enhancing the texture, rather than concealing it.

When I describe the results to my students, I tell them the range of possibilities, not the definite outcome. If you are not pleased with a piece, put it away for a week, a month , a year. Then look with fresh eyes. As artists we are trained to control the results, leaving us closed to other possibilities. 

Raku and other Alternative firing styles frees us from that control, giving us new ways to look, to appreciate the mysterious ways of Glaze and Fire, the accidental happenings, the gifts from the Kiln Goddess.