Class Description
This course was previously called “Raku." In this ceramics course, we employed a firing process during which pieces are removed from the kiln while red hot, and then placed directly into materials, such as leaves or paper, to be reduced in an air‑free atmosphere. Finally, the pots are cooled instantly in cold water.
This process produces some exciting glaze effects. Students have the opportunity to fire their own pieces. This course explored a non-western aesthetic and the concepts of emptiness and simplicity. It serve as an end-of-year reflective experience.
While this course employs a similar technique to “Raku,” we acknowledge this is an exploited term used by many people without a full understanding of the religious, spiritual, and political origins of Raku. The name has been updated accordingly.
CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.