After the pieces are burnished, they are fired to 1825° F - this is the bisque fire - the clay is converted to ceramic. A thick clay slip is brushed onto the bisqued work and then coated with a resist glaze.

The final firing is done in the raku kiln. Several pieces are placed in the kiln, fired to 1500 F, removed from the kiln while hot, allowed to cool slightly and placed in a post firing reduction atmosphere (in our case trash cans) created by pine chips & newspaper. After removing them from the cans, the slip/glaze is peeled to reveal the “naked” bare clay with smoke enhanced surface. The black surfaces and lines are the result of the carbon adhering to the exposed surfaces and seeping through the cracks created in the reduction cooling.