TAKE in the excitement of raku artwork at a new display at Bendigo Pottery.<\/p>\n
Ceramic artist Ri Van Veen made a series of works in a westernised version of the Japanese pottery for her Land and Sky<\/em> exhibition.<\/p>\n \u201cI mostly fire raku because it\u2019s exciting,\u201d she said. \u201cYou fire to 1000 degrees, you take the work out when it\u2019s glowing hot, you\u2019ve got gloves and a mask on and place it into a bin with sawdust.<\/p>\n \u201cThat immediately catches on fire, you put more sawdust and paper on top and then put a lid on it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens is the flames then interact with the glaze and it\u2019s like the flames are painting the glaze. They create a lovely image and surface.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve also got three big posters which show some of the making and firing process, so that helps people to get their head around it.\u201d<\/p>\n While she\u2019s now based in Bacchus Marsh, Van Veen said she first picked up the craft locally at university.<\/p>\n \u201cI started a bachelor of visual arts back in 2005 after getting sick with chronic fatigue,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat started off as therapeutic then became my life.<\/p>\n \u201cThe very first time I did it I became addicted. I designed and built my own raku kiln in my studio.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been getting really great feedback [on the exhibition], it\u2019s very different to the work that\u2019s at the pottery.\u201d<\/p>\n The exhibition can be found at the CLAD gallery space until 26 June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" TAKE in the excitement of raku artwork at a new display at Bendigo Pottery. Ceramic artist Ri Van Veen made a series of works in a westernised version of the Japanese pottery for her Land and Sky exhibition. \u201cI mostly fire raku because it\u2019s exciting,\u201d she said. \u201cYou fire to 1000 degrees, you take the […]<\/p>\n