Ella Massingberd
Raku fired ceramic animals
Raku fired ceramics is a ceramic firing process when pots are taken from the kiln while they are still glowing red hot, they are then placed in a material that would be able to catch fire easily, such as sawdust or newspaper. It’s the clay sculptures reaction in these combustible materials which creates the unique, smoke influenced raku marks on the surface of the fired clay.
Ella Massingberd finds raku firing an incredibly exciting and rewarding technique, as there’s always the anticipation of how each piece may turn out with so many different variables. Each ceramic animal sculpture is hand built in earthenware flax paper clay, bisque fired in a normal ceramic kiln, then a resist is replied followed by a clear raku glaze and raku fired to between 800-925 degrees before scrubbing, sanding and surface finishing. In this process the ceramic surface can result in blemishes which are unique to each raku fired ceramic sculpture.
People love the quirky, cuteness of Ella Massingberd’s unique, handcrafted ceramic animal sculptures as well as the individual smoke effects left by the raku firing process. Each ceramic animal sculpture has its own personality and people fall in love with the different characters from her dodos, seals to dogs, hares and octopus.
Ella Massingberd finds raku firing an incredibly exciting and rewarding technique, as there’s always the anticipation of how each piece may turn out with so many different variables. Each ceramic animal sculpture is hand built in earthenware flax paper clay, bisque fired in a normal ceramic kiln, then a resist is replied followed by a clear raku glaze and raku fired to between 800-925 degrees before scrubbing, sanding and surface finishing. In this process the ceramic surface can result in blemishes which are unique to each raku fired ceramic sculpture.
People love the quirky, cuteness of Ella Massingberd’s unique, handcrafted ceramic animal sculptures as well as the individual smoke effects left by the raku firing process. Each ceramic animal sculpture has its own personality and people fall in love with the different characters from her dodos, seals to dogs, hares and octopus.
