Obvara Firing

Join us at Pottery Northwest for a very special day of learning and doing Obvara! During this workshop participants will learn about how to prepare the obvara mixture and then be able to spectate while staff pulls the work from a preheated kiln and places them into a yeasty liquid mixture. 

Work will need to be dropped off before this day so they can be loaded and preheated before the workshop. Each student is encouraged to bring up to 4 pieces, no larger than 10" in any direction. White, groggy stoneware is recommended. And please avoid walls that are too thin, and work that is too heavy. Staff will need to be able to grab the work with raku tongs during the dunking process, so ensuring that it is easy to handle is important.

About the process:

The Obvara firing process, which originated in Eastern Europe around the 12th Century, involves scalding the finish on the pottery to finish the surface. Similar to the raku pottery process, a bisqued pot is heated, in this case to 1200°F and removed from the heat. The difference is that the pot is then dipped into a specific obvara yeast mixture before being dunked in water to rapidly cool the piece. The effects are quite stunning.

This workshop is open to All Skill Levels. Having previous experience in clay is recommended. 

We believe clay is for everyone! Need tuition assistance? Please send us an email at info@potterynorthwest.org for more information.

What is included

• Obvara mixture

 What to bring

• Bisqueware (any bisque temperature is fine).
• Preferred clay is Hutchin's Raku from Clay Art Center, Coleman Raku from Clay Art Center, Coleman Raku Grog from Clay Art Center, Pipenburg Raku from SPS, and Raku II from SPS.
• These clays are fine too, High fire or midrange clay with heavy grog (Akio, CAC 10, etc).

Please note:

• No black clay.
• No pre-fab bisqueware! You must have made the work yourself!
• There is a chance that your work could break coming out of the kiln with the heat fluctuations, thermal shock can happen.
• Avoid Porcelain!
• Pottery Northwest is located in Pioneer Square, so please plan ahead so that you have enough time to park. You don’t want to miss anything!
• Workshops do not grant you Studio Access outside of your workshop time.