It may seem like a normal day but today for ceramic students is special. Today is one of two days a year where students have the opportunity to give their projects a unique metallic glow. Eric Solberg, a longtime friend of ceramic teacher Mrs. Green, comes once each semester to perform Raku with his propane fueled kilns on students’ projects. Raku is a special way of firing ceramic pieces where the kiln is heated up to 1850 degrees for ten minutes then starved of oxygen for twenty minutes in order to make the melted glaze glow with vibrant colors.

This unique way of firing is a three person job however, this gave many students the opportunity to volunteer and assist Solberg. “I was really nervous at first, since it was so hot and the flames were big, but it helped me understand how difficult ceramics is,” volunteer Faith Krieger said. The process is short and demanding, but the result is rewarding. “I’ve been doing ceramics for twenty years and Raku for seventeen of those years,” Solberg said. He has devoted his life to this art of Raku where he works at his job at Seattle Pottery.

Ceramic students are very lucky however for this exceptional opportunity since Solberg only goes to select schools in the area to fire students’ projects. “I go to about one school a week, I used to do two to three but it gets hard to lift all of the heavy equipment,” Solberg said. If one was to go to Seattle Pottery to get their pieces fired with special glazes, like Raku, it would cost a fee of $25. They offer this service the first Saturday of each month.

After anticipating this day the whole semester to get their projects fired with this beautiful glaze, students were grateful they had the opportunity to volunteer. “I now understand what ceramics would be like in the real world,” student Hannah Graves said. For some ceramics is just a class, but for others it’s a lifestyle. “I felt exhilarated, even when the smoke got in my eyes but I could see myself doing this for the rest of my life,” Krieger said.