Part of the Lamorna Valley Group of artists, Eleanor Newell produces high quality raku ware of a sophisticated and very individual nature. The pieces are predominantly thrown forms, sometimes made of assembled components. Her interests include Art Nouveau, mythology and English folk traditions, all of which offer her inspiration.

 

Raku is an earthenware firing technique originating in late 16th century Japan. The process has evolved and been adapted by successive generations of potters from both Eastern and Western societies. The technique involves firing a glzed pot to between 950 and 1050 degrees C, removing it whilst still red-hot and reducing it in sawdust. Crazing is produced by the thermal shock of this technique, cracking the glaze surface, which is then blackened by the reduction process before the cracks reclose upon cooling. Copper-matt colours occur when reduction is inconsistent and thus a variety of colours may be obtained through various oxidation/reduction cycles.