Raku is of Japanese origin. The piece is cooked once. Then I put an enamel on the piece, generally transparent, and I cook it a second time. At the end of this second cooking I take it out of the oven (980°C) to subject it to a thermal shock creating cracks and I smoke it by placing it in a container filled with dead leaves to blacken the cracks and the unused parts. enamelled.
The Sigillée is a Greco-Roman method. The piece is polished for a long time before firing with an agate to obtain a soft and shiny surface. Then I cover it with a mixture of water and very fine clay that I harvest locally, called Sigillée. Then the piece is baked for a long time. It can be smoked to reinforce the colors and the waterproofness. Over time the part may be sensitive to UV.
Once my pieces are fired the first time, I carry out cold smoking. That is to say that they are placed in a container filled with dead leaves which I burn, the release of smoke enters the room (CO²) which blackens it.
Before the shaped pieces are completely dry, I polish them with an Agathe in order to first bring in the large clay particles and secondly to give them an extremely smooth and shiny surface. I apply Sigillaea or let the pieces dry. Then I move on to cooking.