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Raku Technique
Old Japanese technique, which was used to meet the needs of the tea ceremony.
The host and guests improvised, forged and fired vessels of their own pleasure ceremony for their contact and communication.
The decoration is done with white or coloured glazes with metal oxides, while the presence of silver nitrate results in irregular metallic iridescence.
The objects are fired with open firing, in temperatures up to 1000°C.
The clay remains porous and open, ready to receive the magical penetration of the smoke during the reduction process. The result of this process is the black colour it acquires and “crazing”. The result of this process is the black color and “cracking”.
Safiolea Dimitra
Shaping clay with my hands feels like an extension of my soul. It is my desire that every ceramic item evokes a plethora of emotions to each one of us.
HANDMADE CERAMIC ART
My first encounter with clay occurred at the age of 18, at Depa Kalamata art shop with Myrto Maganari. This is where I felt that to me ceramics meant a continuous effort to express my inner self.
This journey continued with Spyros Arvanitis, with whom I worked for many years and fell in love with the raku firing technique.
Hanging wall artworks inspired by mythology and poetry
REDEMPTION
The liberation of our soul from the chains of the past is redemption.
FERTILITY
In the same manner as the ancient goddesses of fertility, universal harmony is integrated with female fertility by the figure in this depiction.
HERMES
Gods’ messenger, who also acted as a soul escort (leading the souls of the dead to Ades) was also the protector of thieves, gambling, and trade. With his wings and his hair blowing in the wind, he starts his journey towards fantasy and the unknown. With wings and hair blowing he begins his journey towards the unknown and the dreamy.
FLESH AND SOUL
Man’s perishable body (a ‘tomb of the soul’ according to Plato) encompasses the eternal and perishable part, which, after the natural ending will drift towards the eternal light.
A day in our workshop
Seminars
We host seminars for students and groups who are interested in learning the raku firing technique, demonstrating all the stages of the procedure from shaping the clay, producing the works by hand and in the wheel, glazing them and finally to the raku firing. The attendees interact and participate in the process, and they leave having acquired knowledge on the subject. They may also take with them the piece of work which they created.The days pass productively in our workshop, instilling soul into the clay, playing creatively with fire, and immersing our artwork into metal oxide glazes and silver nitrate.
