Circumstance – raku pottery

Description

A striking raku-fired ceramic pot, with Chris’s poetry which reads:

‘set me free so I might go to new places, there to meet people who disagree, where circumstance dictates a shape I might never else encounter’

which Michaela chose to reflect the landscape nature of the piece.

The raku-fired bowl has an organic shape and a rich texture and glaze. It is 47cm tall and 23cm diameter at its widest point, with a bold range of glazes, textures and marks.

How we make our elemental pots

Raku (meaning ‘easy’ in Japanese!) is a process by which a pot is heated quickly to around 1000 degrees using a gas burner, then it is placed in a reduction bin (a sealed metal bin containing combustible material.) By controlling the amount of oxygen reaching the glazes, the potter can produce a range of different colours  (although much of this is also down to chance!)

‘Seatree elemental’ refers to a range of ceramics using rough clays and alternative firing techniques, such as pit firing or raku firing. All pieces are hand built and unique. Although they utilise original poetry – just like other seatree work – you may have to work harder to read it, as we are happy to let the words be absorbed into the piece itself. The poems chosen for seatree elemental are often more challenging in nature, as this work has emerged as a way for us to explore our relationship to all that is broken and all that is beautiful in this world shadowed by climate injustice. Just like our other work, you will see a colour spectrum inspired by the wild western fringe of Scotland.

This platter is perfect for anyone who loves meaninful pottery.