Keene Valley Raku

 

Here are some pictures of my latest batch of Raku vases based on birch bark from Keene Valley. I actually used a piece of downed birch log from the Trails End Inn to create the texture. I make them intentionally rough instead of trompe l'oeil (fool the eye) because I still want the nature of the clay to be apparent and when you see birch resting on the ground it really looks like this.  I also created a tile based on my ink drawing of a forest scene. It came out very calligraphic and abstract. I like it.