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500 Series
500 Raku Bold Explorations of a Dynamic Ceramics Technique by Hemachandra, Ray, Romberg, Jim [Lark Crafts,2011]
500 Raku Bold Explorations of a Dynamic Ceramics Technique by Hemachandra, Ray, Romberg, Jim. Published by Lark Crafts,2011, Paperback
- GenresArtNonfiction
Paperback
First published March 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 26, 2024
As a ceramicist (or ceramist, if you prefer) I use this book as a inspiration for my own work (not only raku but many of the forms and surface decorations,) or just eye candy to enjoy. Absolutely one of the best in the 500 series that I've seen
The photography is great, the work is first class. This book is becoming harder to purchase, I suggest looking it up soon.
The photography is great, the work is first class. This book is becoming harder to purchase, I suggest looking it up soon.
December 1, 2022
I didn’t know that much about Raku before, so I came away very impressed. The artworks was beautiful (and beautifully presented) and the subjects varied. I particularly enjoyed reading about how these pieces were made and what materials were used.
A nice addition to the Lark series.
A nice addition to the Lark series.
February 1, 2021
Beautiful visual representation of all things raku. Limited info, it’s more like a gallery you can flip through.
December 17, 2024
This “500” is such a great series did anyone interested in art.
June 18, 2025
Ray Hemachandra’s 500 Raku: Bold Explorations of a Dynamic Ceramics Technique is more than a visual catalogue—it is a philosophical document. As part of the “500 Series” published by Lark Books, this volume continues the series’ tradition of curatorial excellence, presenting a collection of works that not only celebrate a specific craft but also probe the limits of its expressive potential. Raku, a technique with centuries-old roots in Japanese tea ceremony traditions, is here reimagined through a diverse contemporary lens, rendering the book a compelling study in material experimentation, cultural dialogue, and aesthetic freedom.
The editorial structure of the book—eschewing long essays for brief artist statements and evocative images—places the reader directly in dialogue with the works themselves. Each of the 500 pieces functions as a micro-essay on transformation, imperfection, and spontaneity, the very ethos of the raku tradition. Hemachandra resists the urge to narrate or define; instead, he offers a democratic platform where form, glaze, and fire coalesce into a living vocabulary of surfaces and silhouettes.
What makes 500 Raku particularly illuminating for the literary scholar is its implicit engagement with wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic philosophy that reveres transience and imperfection. Many of the featured works bear the smoky scars of combustion, the crackle of thermal shock, the asymmetry of rapid glaze cooling. These are not defects but signs of vitality, of dialogue between intention and accident. The raku process—fast, unpredictable, and tactile—emerges as a metaphor for existential uncertainty and creative courage. In this sense, the book becomes an archive of poetic gestures captured in clay.
Standout pieces by artists such as Rick Berman, Marilyn Andrews, and Hal Riegger invite close reading. One sees not only technical virtuosity but also metaphorical resonance: vessels that appear charred or ruptured gesture toward themes of survival, ritual, and ephemerality. The teabowl, a canonical form in raku, is frequently deconstructed, exaggerated, or hybridized with sculptural forms—an echo of postmodern tendencies in contemporary craft. These works speak to a globalized ceramics practice that remains rooted in tradition while unafraid to reinterpret or subvert it.
There is, however, an intentional absence in the volume: critical discourse. While the visual impact is undeniable, scholars may wish for contextual essays addressing the evolution of raku from its Zen Buddhist origins to its reappropriation in Western studio practice. A deeper interrogation of cultural appropriation, or the tension between authenticity and innovation, would have enriched the book’s intellectual heft. That said, the editorial choice to let the works stand on their own also honors the experiential immediacy that raku demands.
500 Raku is a luminous and dynamic contribution to the literature of ceramic arts. It offers scholars, makers, and aesthetes alike a tactile journey through the alchemy of clay, flame, and human touch. In its embrace of chance and surface, rupture and rebirth, the book becomes a mirror for the reader: we, too, are vessels shaped by fire.
The editorial structure of the book—eschewing long essays for brief artist statements and evocative images—places the reader directly in dialogue with the works themselves. Each of the 500 pieces functions as a micro-essay on transformation, imperfection, and spontaneity, the very ethos of the raku tradition. Hemachandra resists the urge to narrate or define; instead, he offers a democratic platform where form, glaze, and fire coalesce into a living vocabulary of surfaces and silhouettes.
What makes 500 Raku particularly illuminating for the literary scholar is its implicit engagement with wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic philosophy that reveres transience and imperfection. Many of the featured works bear the smoky scars of combustion, the crackle of thermal shock, the asymmetry of rapid glaze cooling. These are not defects but signs of vitality, of dialogue between intention and accident. The raku process—fast, unpredictable, and tactile—emerges as a metaphor for existential uncertainty and creative courage. In this sense, the book becomes an archive of poetic gestures captured in clay.
Standout pieces by artists such as Rick Berman, Marilyn Andrews, and Hal Riegger invite close reading. One sees not only technical virtuosity but also metaphorical resonance: vessels that appear charred or ruptured gesture toward themes of survival, ritual, and ephemerality. The teabowl, a canonical form in raku, is frequently deconstructed, exaggerated, or hybridized with sculptural forms—an echo of postmodern tendencies in contemporary craft. These works speak to a globalized ceramics practice that remains rooted in tradition while unafraid to reinterpret or subvert it.
There is, however, an intentional absence in the volume: critical discourse. While the visual impact is undeniable, scholars may wish for contextual essays addressing the evolution of raku from its Zen Buddhist origins to its reappropriation in Western studio practice. A deeper interrogation of cultural appropriation, or the tension between authenticity and innovation, would have enriched the book’s intellectual heft. That said, the editorial choice to let the works stand on their own also honors the experiential immediacy that raku demands.
500 Raku is a luminous and dynamic contribution to the literature of ceramic arts. It offers scholars, makers, and aesthetes alike a tactile journey through the alchemy of clay, flame, and human touch. In its embrace of chance and surface, rupture and rebirth, the book becomes a mirror for the reader: we, too, are vessels shaped by fire.
March 14, 2011
This is the latest in Lark's pith-perfect 500 series. If you love objects the way I do then this is a series that you should investigate - because if you like it - there is "500" book for you - or will be soon!.
When I opened this book I had to chuckle to myself because this book is so full of beautiful work. I collect bowls and vessels. I enjoy holding them - it's such a satisfying shape. I am not a potter and I have never thrown a bowl or vessel before but I know it must be magic - looks at the amazing results!
Raku is an ancient technique originating in 16th century Japan. I have always admired the array of effects that seem to be possible with this unique technique. The juror for this book was Jim Romberg who is the "master ceramist ... of the Eagleheart Center for Arts and Inquiry; Romberg headed the Ceramics Department of Southern Oregon University for two decades. " The editor is Lark's own Ray Hemchandra who has a lot of experience with all things beautiful - he heads the Beading and Jewelry division of Lark Crafts, among other things. Who knew - surely not a non-potter like me - that Raku could produce the diversity of styles and beauty that are displayed in the pages of this book. You will find delicate beauty, humorous whimsy, bold design and serene simplicity in these pages. For some reason this "500" book has grabbed me a bit more than some of the titles - perhaps that's because I am not a potter by I admire the medium and covet the results of the art form. What's a bowl and vessel lover to do but continue to look through the pages of this book - and dream!
When I opened this book I had to chuckle to myself because this book is so full of beautiful work. I collect bowls and vessels. I enjoy holding them - it's such a satisfying shape. I am not a potter and I have never thrown a bowl or vessel before but I know it must be magic - looks at the amazing results!
Raku is an ancient technique originating in 16th century Japan. I have always admired the array of effects that seem to be possible with this unique technique. The juror for this book was Jim Romberg who is the "master ceramist ... of the Eagleheart Center for Arts and Inquiry; Romberg headed the Ceramics Department of Southern Oregon University for two decades. " The editor is Lark's own Ray Hemchandra who has a lot of experience with all things beautiful - he heads the Beading and Jewelry division of Lark Crafts, among other things. Who knew - surely not a non-potter like me - that Raku could produce the diversity of styles and beauty that are displayed in the pages of this book. You will find delicate beauty, humorous whimsy, bold design and serene simplicity in these pages. For some reason this "500" book has grabbed me a bit more than some of the titles - perhaps that's because I am not a potter by I admire the medium and covet the results of the art form. What's a bowl and vessel lover to do but continue to look through the pages of this book - and dream!
June 4, 2012
A very nice collection highlighting the ceramic technique of raku. From teapots to figures, you will find all sorts of nice objects and whimsical things here. A very nice book to look over, and yet another good one in this series.
March 17, 2011
Loved it, and if I were a ceramics person, this is what I'd like to make.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews