Ceramics is a wonderfully diverse medium. There are literally hundreds of ways to make, decorate and fire works created from clay, resulting in potentially thousands of varieties of looks. Most potters like to experiment with a variety of techniques, and I'm no exception.

In mid 2006, I started working with the Naked Raku technique. In this process, vessels are made, dried, and coated with terra sigillata, burnished, and bisque fired. The bisqued piece is then coated with a special slip, then a special glaze. Optionally, at this stage, I may sometimes incise into the slip-glaze layer to draw my favorite designs. The piece is then quickly heated in a raku kiln until the glaze reaches "orange peel" texture. The piece is then removed to a container filled with combustibles (newspaper or sawdust) to be smoked. After about 10 minutes, the piece is removed from the smoke environment, and the slip/glaze layer is peeled off, stripping the vessel back to it's "naked" body. The drawn lines of the design absorbed the smoke, as well as any random crackles in the glaze, turning black and leaving a combination of contrasting random and intentional designs. After cleaning, the piece is coated with a light layer of wax to enhance and protect the surface.