Raku Clay & Copper workshops by Bernard Graves

Recently, at the Bangalore Steiner School, a group of enthusiastic learners got together to experience the fine art of Raku from master craftsman, Bernard Graves. “As you shape the clay, the clay shapes you,” Bernard told the participants gathered, “the process of creating ceramics is a metamorphosis.” Indeed, over the course of the four days, the crafters experienced a transformation of the clay, and within.

The Metamorphosis

Larva: Crafters used their hands to work the clay into pinch pots. A special clay is used for Raku, one with a higher carbon content that makes the clay look more black than terracotta clay that looks brown. The clay was rolled into balls and the thumb, being the force of will, was used to press into the pots and shape the balls of clay into pinch pots. The enthusiastic potters went on to shape the clay into elephants and koala bears, beads and bangles, plates and musical instruments.

Pupa: The clay pieces were dried in the open air and then placed in the lime kiln to be completely dried. Everyone enjoyed the process of building the paper slip kiln, from scratch! Students of Grade 11, teachers, parents and visiting participants worked together in groups to cut wood, tear brown paper bags into sheets, mix clay slurry and lighting charcoal. The firewood was stacked in neat circles with the clay pieces in the middle, and this was covered in brown paper sheets dipped in clay slurry. The burning charcoal was loaded in at the bottom of the dome, and rhythmic working of the bellows kept the charcoal glowing. The kiln was left to work overnight, slowly firing the ceramics within.

Chrysalis: When the caterpillar forms a cocoon and goes within, it dissolves completely, into a soup. The chrysalis holds this space while the parts are transformed into a butterfly. Nobody expected a storm to blow over the campus that night. The makeshift roof was blown in the strong winds, with rain pouring down. Thankfully, the school guard was able to swiftly come to the rescue and protect the kiln with a tin sheet roof. The next morning everyone walked in to see what seemed to be a disaster, but as we opened the kiln and excavated the pieces, they were all intact and ready for the next step in the process!

Butterfly: The crafters, who were briefly disheartened by the hurdles to be crossed, were once again buzzing like bees, dipping their brushes in glaze and covering their fired pieces with a coat of glaze. The glaze kiln was also built from scratch, using a barrel lined with a silica fiber sheet held in place with wire. The fire lit below raised the temperature within the kiln to between 800 to 900 degrees, and the ceramic pieces were placed in it for about twenty minutes and fired in batches. As soon as the pieces were taken out of the kiln, they were either left out in the open air, put in water, or put in a box of sawdust, which created different effects on the final piece. Crafters were in awe of the beauty that was created. The transformation of both the clay and the crafter helped us experience the real meaning of “Raku”, the Japanese word for this process of creating ceramics, truly, joy and beauty can be found in the cracks.

The Copper Workshop led by Mr. Bernard Graves, a master craftsman who has taught at several Waldorf schools as well as hosted workshops for over thirty years, was a lesson in strengthening the will. Eager crafters began with sheets of copper cut into workable squares. The sheets were then heated with fire and quenched in water to make them malleable and easy to work with. The softened copper sheet was cut into a circle to form a bowl.

Cutting copper is not as easy as it seems. After much struggle, we witnessed Pavan Teacher, Games Teacher at BSS, show us how it was done, as he sliced the sheets with ease. With new inspiration, the crafters were sailing on to the next step in the process of making a bowl, keeping the sheet in a moulded wooden stump and hammering it into shape. Then began the hammering. For two days the sound of hammers striking copper reverberated through the air at BSS as the crafters, guided by Mr. Bernard Graves, hammered, cut, filed and polished pieces of copper into a diverse array of craft. From bowls and plates, we moved on to making jewellery and bells, artefacts and sculptures.

One skilled participant from Chennai soldered pieces of copper into a sculpture of a bull in a striking pose. Kavitha Teacher’s beautiful bell, crafted with a folded piece of copper and a small ball strung with wire, captured our imaginations and showed us the potential that lies within a sheet of copper. Others used the small pieces left over from cutting, and made bracelets, pendants, hairpins that they adorned, showing us that beauty can be created even from scrap bits of copper. “Indian people are astral” observed Bernard Graves, looking at the way we wore our copper jewellery. In all his years, this was the first time he had seen anyone engrave a name on a gift for a loved one.

As we got to know the copper and work with it, we got to know ourselves and each other. Using our heart, hands and head, with tremendous amounts of will and focus, the crafters channeled their creative energies to create beauty.

more photos of the sessions below...