Where there’s smoke...there’s art! At least that was the case on Raku Day at New Rochelle High School.
Students in Ellen Salov’s and Joanna Schomber’s Ceramics and Sculpture classes got hands-on with the art department’s annual Raku firing on Oct. 15. Working in teams with gloves, tongs, and safety gear, the students pulled their pieces from the kiln at peak heat and nestled them into newspaper-filled bins. Raku Day.
Raku is a traditional Japanese firing technique. The sudden loss of oxygen creates smoke, flame, and crackle, producing metallic glazes, deep blacks, and crackled surfaces. No two pieces are alike.
Raku Day is a 36-year tradition at New Rochelle High School, one of only three high schools in the state that offer the Raku experience to their art students. In addition to being a creative event, it’s also quite a spectacle for passersby to observe students demonstrating the technique.
The student works will be displayed in the Museum of Art and Culture later this fall.