Post News Director sat down with North Platte native and Doane University Professor Eric Stearns about his opening reception going on tonight at the Prairie Art Center of his latest ceramic work in a show titled Ra•ku.
NORTH PLATTE - Eric Stearns returns to North Platte and tonight at the Prairie Art Center is his opening reception of his latest ceramic work titled Ra•ku. The event goes from 5:30pm - 7:30pm at the PAC and you can chat with Stearns at the event. Check out the latest pieces of art Stearns has done.
Raku is a method of quickly firing ceramic artwork. Eric removes the pieces from the kiln at 1450° F, when they're still red hot. The art is given about a minute or two to cool before placing it in a metal container with a few sheets of newspaper. The paper ignites and smokes then the container is closed.
The reduction atmosphere affects the glaze colors, and the smoke turns unglazed parts of the clay black. The drastic thermal shock also produces cracking in the glaze —known as crazing since it is deliberate. The piece is removed from the container once cool and cleaned up to remove residual soot and ash, revealing the brilliant glazes.
To learn more about Stearns and what Ra•ku is, check out the post above. If you would like to see some of his Ra•ku pieces, click here.