Philip Green

I have been working with ceramics for several years, throwing on the wheel, handbuilding, and combining the two. I became energized by the making of Raku clocks. I love to take the extreme order of a clock face, surround it with chaos, and yield it to the unpredictability of the Raku firing process. The “chaos” is made from orderly geometric shapes such as circles, lines, triangles, and coupled with irregular shapes and textures.

Raku is an ancient and dynamic firing method which produces brilliant, unpredictable color on ceramic surfaces. Special raku glazes are applied which contain various minerals. The clock face is fired to a temperature in excess of 1800º F, then quickly removed and placed in a container with flammable dry materials such as shredded paper or wood shavings. The flashing, followed by a smothering and smoldering process, produces the chromatic surprises. No two could ever come out the same. Each has its own metallic swirls and iridescences. I am always excited to see what the final work will look like.