For raku I use a specialist, thermal-shock resistant, clay body and after burnishing the surface, apply terra sigillata and bisque fire the pot. After the bisque firing the pot is decorated and a coat of resist-slip is applied and covered with a thin white-crackle or copper glaze or a resist-slip for naked raku. The pot is then fired in a raku kiln to 1000 degrees centigrade and taken from the kiln and buried in sawdust when red hot. Smoke blackens the unglazed areas and seeps through the crackle in the glaze. On cooling the resist-slip and glaze fall away revealing the crackle patterns on the clay surface.
