Build & Burnish: Creating Polished Clay surfaces.

Class Schedule

18+
Sept17
9 am-4 pm

Class Description

Create beautifully polished ceramic forms while preparing your work for the dramatic surface effects of naked raku.

In this hands-on workshop with Lois Hirschberg, participants will receive 12½ pounds of clay to create small vessels or sculptural forms. You may throw, pinch, coil, or slab build—whatever method feels most comfortable to you. The workshop allows plenty of time to refine each form and carefully finish its surface.

While the pieces are still in the greenware stage, participants will apply thin layers of terra sigillata, an exceptionally fine clay slip used to create smooth, lustrous surfaces. The pieces will then be carefully burnished, gradually bringing them to a rich, luminous polish.

This polished finish creates an ideal surface for the distinctive smoke, carbon, and resist effects of naked raku. Finished pieces will be bisque fired and ready for Lois’s upcoming Naked Raku Firing.

Please note: Build and Burnish also works beautifully as a standalone workshop. Participation in the Naked Raku Firing is entirely optional, and participants may simply enjoy their bisque-fired pieces as finished burnished work.