Hinstock Famous Pottery Connections
If you were stopped in the middle of Hinstock by someone asking for directions to the nearest Raku Pottery Workshop, how would you direct them? Up to a few days ago I wouldn't have had any idea that Hinstock has the foremost Raku Pottery Workshop in the area. The Workshop belongs to Jeff Lomas and in July he is to host his very own Raku Pottery Exhibition in Shrewsbury. All the items in the exhibition will have been made in Hinstock and the people of Hinstock should be proud to have such an artisan in their midst.'Raku' has its origins in 16th Century Japan when a skilled potter called Chojiro produced bowls for ritual tea ceremonies called 'ima-yaki', indicating that these were produced by a current method as opposed to long established traditional methods such as 'San Cai'. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, an influential warrior statesman, was so impressed by the pottery that he bestowed a gold seal on the family which included a symbol representing the Chinese character for Raku, encapsulating a contented feeling of 'ease, pleasure and enjoyment'. The pottery was renamed 'juraku-yaki' and Raku became the family name. Thus the family name became synonymous with the ceramics they produced and unusually, the Raku family have continued to produce this pottery in an unbroken line for 15 generations and today is under the guidance of the current head of the family, Kichizaemon.
The western world first became aware of Raku pottery via Bernard Leach's informative pottery books prior to the outbreak of World War 2 and in the 1960s, Paul Soldner began a revival of Raku pottery techniques in Europe which continue to this day.
The Raku technique uses both fire and smoke to create unique designs. The pottery piece is first bisque fired to harden the clay. It is left to cool and then glazed in whatever colours and patterns are desired. The glazed piece is put into a kiln and the temperature of the kiln quickly raised to about 1000 degrees Centigrade. The piece is kept in the kiln for 30 minutes or thereabouts, removed from the kiln and, still glowing red hot, it is put immediately into a container of combustible materials such as wood shavings. The heat from the piece causes the wood shavings to burst into flame. A lid is quickly placed over the container sealing the piece inside. As the fire consumes the available oxygen it also draws the oxygen from the pottery piece and its glaze. It is this 'post fire reduction' phase that creates the unique look of Raku pottery via processes of rapid heating and cooling. As the process relies upon a variable, natural process of oxygen removal, the final patterns in the pottery are quite unpredictable. The Raku piece remains in the sealed container for about 15 minutes, is removed and placed quickly into water. This part of the process freezes the patterns and colours created in the previous, 'post fire reduction' phase. The finished Raku pottery piece is removed from the water when it has cooled sufficiently to be handled and is cleaned and polished ready to reveal the bright colours, metallic effects and crackle finish typical of the Raku process.
If you wish to know more about this fascinating technique then you should visit Jeff Lomas' exhibition of Raku Pottery in Shrewsbury.
It may well be a good investment to purchase an early piece of his pottery before his reputation becomes international and demand for his work increases.
Mike Thomason
Jeff was for many years head of Primary Schools in Shropshire.
He writes : " Having retired, I now have the time to further develop my passion of enjoying and creating ceramics. Much of my work has been influenced by landscape, particularly the beauty of the Vale of Clywd, Anglesey and Shropshire. These areas of natural beauty have shaped my thoughts and are hopefully reflected in the pieces which I produce. My work is almost entirely hand-built, then fired in the Raku and stoneware pottery tradition. If any part of it gives pleasure or thought provocation to those who view it, then the past three years of my retirement have achieved an important objective. "
The exhibition opens on Sunday 5th July and runs daily until Saturday 18th July between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at BEAR STEPS GALLERY, ST. ALKMUND'S PLACE, SHREWSBURY, SY1 1UH.