Horse Hair Ruku

Horse hair raku holds endless fasciation for people who visit our market stall, and incidentally, for the maker. The spontaneity and unpredictability of this technique seems to hold an element of magic. As the hair is laid over a red hot pot that has just been removed from the kiln, it sizzles into squiggly lines that leave a permanent mark on the ceramic surface. Of equal visual interest to the final result are the shadows created by the oily smoke as the hair burns creating its own story.

These are earthenware vessels that are not food safe, and traditionally have not been entirely waterproof. However, I have recently discovered liquid quartz; a product that I spray onto the interior of the pot to make it water tight. In addition, the exterior is applied with bees wax and buffed to a sensual sheen. Pots treated in this way make lovely decorative items or may be used as vases.

I am grateful for the generosity of neighbours who are horse owners for the donation of trimmed horse tails. I especially love the trimmings when a horse has a tangle in their tail that must be cut out. This means lots of nice long hairs to play with during the raku firing.

There are so many possibilities with alternate firing techniques, that I think I will be exploring different possibilities for a long time.