The first public Raku firing day and BBQ was held by Grayshott Pottery, on Saturday and around 100 decorative pots were created and taken home. The event, which was held outside in brilliant sunshine, attracted around 40 participants who invented their own patterns and designs, using special glazes applied to previously prepared Raku pottery. The output was then fired in a newly built kiln and then smoked in sawdust and dipped in water to obtain the characteristic colour and porous texture of the Raku ware.
Ed Snell, Managing Director of Grayshott Pottery said, 'We have run Raku firings before as staff activities and they had always been really popular. The output you get is really pleasing to the eye and is a pretty fast process and a lot of fun for everyone! It is possible to do the whole thing in under an hour! Our normal ceramics however, that we create in our workshops take a lot longer. They have to go through several processes before they are ready to be dispatched to our customers' homes and businesses and are fired at much higher temperatures. We offer free weekday tours for people to see this for themselves'.
Glenn Myers, Production Director added 'We were really pleased that so many people were able to join us here at the Pottery for this unusual event. It was so successful that we have been asked to run it again very soon. We now plan to run another Raku Day on 2nd October 2010 and will be serving Chilli and hot potatoes too. So we hope to see everyone again soon!'
For bookings for the next Raku Event on Oct 2nd and for details of the free weekday tours contact Grayshott Pottery on 01428 604404 or visit their website at www.grayshottpottery.com email gifts@grayshottpottery.com
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Phil Wareham smoking the pots in sawdust before dipping them in water to obtain the characteristic colour and porous texture of the Raku ware
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