Horse hair raku

Horse hair raku is a method of decorating pottery through the application of horsehair and other dry carbonaceous material to the heated ware.

Horsehair raku usually utilizes burnishing and/or Terra sigillata techniques to prepare the unglazed surface before Bisque firing.

The bisque ware is heated in a kiln, then removed while still extremely hot.

Strands of horsehair laid across hot ware leave a wandering linear smoke design on the surface.

[1] It is not known precisely how horsehair pottery was first developed, but several stories connect the beginnings of this technique to Native American Pueblo women.