Bruce Johnson
Bruce Johnson of Lake Mills, Wisconsin
has been throwing pots since 1983 while
he was in college in North Carolina.
After graduation, he returned to
Wisconsin to work for one of the largest
producers of handmade pottery in the
country. During his 10 years of
experience there, he refined his
throwing skills and was given the title
"Master Potter." He founded his
own studio in 1993 and now specializes
in copper flash raku pots in
various shapes and sizes. Raku
is a Japanese process developed in the
16th century. After Bruce throws
the pot he desires, it's fired in the
kiln until it's hard, coated with a
copper matt glaze and then returned to
the kiln. After the pot is red
hot, it's removed with tongs and
placed in a container filled with
sawdust or shredded paper. The
materials ignite and the resulting
flames react with the copper glaze,
producing colors nearly impossible to
achieve with standard glazes.
Because the process is so spontaneous,
there are no two pots alike. The
copper flash raku pots vary in
size from about 8 to 14 inches, although
larger sizes are available upon special
request. Prices range from $90 to
$150.
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