{"id":4375,"date":"2015-11-02T17:48:47","date_gmt":"2015-11-02T21:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=4375"},"modified":"2017-03-20T14:20:54","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T18:20:54","slug":"raku-firing-to-brighten-night-sky-at-vpaa-raku-b-cue-nov-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/raku-firing-to-brighten-night-sky-at-vpaa-raku-b-cue-nov-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Raku firing to brighten night sky at VPAA Raku-B-Que Nov. 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cBin people, get ready!\u201d shouted Melissa Schapell over the sound of the propane gas tank heating a kiln outside Salem High School.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5160<\/a>The \u201cbin people,\u201d better known as Visual and Performing Arts Academy (VPAA) students in Schappell\u2019s ceramics class, were ready.<\/p>\n

You have to be when you are about to receive pottery at 1850 degrees Fahrenheit. The students were also eager to get a first look at some of the Raku pieces they glazed last class.<\/p>\n

Schappell, wearing protective clothing and glasses like her students, quickly explained the unique firing process to a visitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cA propane tank feeds into the bottom of the kiln, and we have a pyrometer measuring its temperature,\u201d she said. \u201cI slowly increase the heat until it gets to about 1300 degrees, and then I put it on full blast. At 1850 degrees we lift the lid, set it down and the pieces are red-hot at their peak temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take those metal forceps there,\u201d continued Schappell, \u201cand create an assembly line to pick up one piece at a time and put them into those fireproof bins filled with newspaper and sawdust. They catch flame, we close the lid, and they sit in there for about 20 minutes so they can reduce.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5201<\/a>It\u2019s the quick cooling of the pottery during the reduction process that freezes certain characteristics of the pottery and brightens the Raku glaze.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the really neat part about the process,\u201d said Schappell, \u201cyou get these really unpredictable marks that give them individual interest. Sometimes you get char marks on the surface wherever there is really nice contact with some of the newspaper or sawdust. And some of the glazes have special effects. This is a crackle glaze, so you see interesting lines. Sometimes colors change in the process. There is always the element of no control, so you just kind of let go at a certain point and whatever happens, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

There has to be control, however, in removing the red-hot pieces from the kiln. Watch\u00a0Schappell and her students remove two pieces to a fireproof bin:<\/p>\n