Joyce Furney

The Art of Raku practiced by Joyce Furney is attributed to Zen Buddhist Monks of 16th Century Japan and was favored for the tea bowls of the great tea masters. In that culture and time Raku was much more than a method of making and firing pottery, it was a philosophy.

The Japanese symbol for Raku can be translated as "enjoyment of freedom." However, as is often the case with adapting the philosophies of other cultures, we in the west have distilled Raku to a technical process. Raku is now generally accepted to mean a method of rapid firing and cooling of ceramic ware, and names the finished product. Raku is the firing method used at The Clay Cellar. Forms are either wheel-thrown or hand built, using a white raku clay body formulated to withstand great thermal shock. Metallic stains and engobes (colored clays) are often brushed on the greenware forms for decoration. When trimmed and dried, the vessels are bisque fired, glazed with either crackle white glaze or a metallic luster glaze and then gas-fired to 1660-1800 degrees.

We have a large selection of Joyce Furney Raku in stock. Each design comes in many different styles, shapes, and sizes. Please contact us to find out more about what we have in stock for a particular design.