Making pots and firing them using the Raku method has an immediacy which can be both freeing and thrilling.  The pots are warmed to drive off any moisture remaining in the body of the pot after glazing, and before being placed into the chamber of the kiln at the glaze's top temperature, usually around 1,000°C.  The pot is left in the kiln until the glaze has melted, lifted out and placed either into a container of combustible materials (usually sawdust) or being plunged into water.  The whole process, from glazing to cleaning the pot under the tap, taking around one hour.

Applying the glaze	Warming in the oven
Firing the pots	"Cooling" in sawdust

Pots for Raku firing are made from very coarse clay, enabling them to withstand the huge thermal shock which this method of firing and cooling demands.  This coarseness, and the after-firing treatment of the pots dictates the way in which Raku pots and their decoration are made and applied.  Pots should be freely thrown and finished, and the decoration allowed to "live" rather than being "controlled".  This doesn't mean that pots are clumsy and decoration random, but rather that the entire technique and original meaning should be reflected in the finished piece.

Some of Japan's most famous "tea ceremony" wares are in Raku, and examples can be seen in museums around the world, although the best and most treasured remain in Japan.