Can You Raku?

Story by Ken Graham
Photos by David Frame

At around three-thirty on Saturday afternoon during Dayton on Tour, Robbie Zimmerman will attach a propane burner to what looks like an old garbage can and fire it up. Over the next half-hour, the temperature inside the can, which is actually a kiln, will reach nearly 2,000 degrees F. The kiln will contain one of Robbie's clay pots, with a fresh coat of glaze applied. The pot will begin turning a dull molten red.

As four-o'clock approaches Robbie will put on goggles and heavy gloves and, using special tongs, carefully lift the glowing pot out of the kiln and place it in an actual garbage can, which will be filled with various combustible materials, such as hay, shredded newspaper and maybe even dried dung. As the heat from the pot ignites the combustibles, sparks and flames will rise from the can. The instant she lifts the tongs from the can, Robbie's assistant – her husband, Ralph Zimmerman – will slam the cover onto the can and rob it of oxygen. After about ten minutes, the still smoldering pot will be lifted from the can and dunked in a bucket of water. By this time, magic things will have happened to the glaze.

"Raku" is the Japanese word for this process of firing pottery using combustibles. "The neat thing about Raku is that you never know what you're going to get," says Robbie. The combustibles add a sort of flavor and texture to the glaze and give each piece of Raku pottery a unique finish, she says.

Robbie Zimmerman's Raku demonstration will be one of the highlights of this year's Dayton on Tour event, to be held the weekend of October 11th and 12th. Robbie will be one of more than 20 local area artists who will display their work during the Dayton on Tour weekend. (See adjoining article).

Robbie and Ralph Zimmerman like to tell their friends that they met in prison. In fact, they both worked as corrections officers at the Walla Walla Penitentiary when they first got to know each other in the early 1990s.

By 1999, Robbie needed back surgery, and was told by doctors that going back to work at the "pen" was out of the question. "My husband knew that I loved pottery and I always wanted to try it," says Robbie, "so he encouraged me to take the pottery course at Walla Walla Community College." Starting in the fall of 1999, Robbie spent two years learning how to make pottery, both at school and at home. "I love books, so I bought several pottery books and started reading them every night at home."

"Sun Lizard Studios" is located near the end of the Wolf Fork Road, south of Dayton. Here, Robbie has all the equipment necessary for a practicing potter, including a potter's wheel and a regular pottery kiln, along with the Raku kiln. It is here that she also displays examples of the many different kinds of pottery she creates. Robbie is an Arizona native, and she paints southwestern and Native American designs on many of her pieces. "I like to use the techniques of the Native Americans," says Robbie. "Sometimes I buff the finish of a piece for many hours, just like they did." Robbie also loves African imagery, and often paints African designs on her work.

Robbie and Ralph moved from Walla Walla to their new Wolf Fork Road home and studio in 2005. Robbie has sold many of her works at the Walla Walla Farmer's Market and at the Pendleton Roundup. She also has sold many pieces through local area galleries.

Robbie has enjoyed learning many different kinds of pottery firing techniques. Besides Raku firing and regular kiln firing, Robbie has also finished her pottery using smoke firing (putting a clay piece in a container with a charcoal fire) and pit firing.

Robbie loves to visit other potters and discuss pottery techniques with them. "Once, in Nevada, I made my husband drive five hours out of our way, so we could visit a potters' studio I heard about," says Robbie. "It turned out to be a fascinating place. I learned a lot from the people there, and I've kept in touch with them ever since."

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