over - Rhode Island, Vancouver, Okanagan, Chicago, California, Haney.
There were students, housewives, teachers and, well what can I say -

a good cross-section of society all wanting to pot. The weather was
superb - some of us camped in the meadow and others in motels. We
ate our meals communally. The well got kind of low but nearby

students hauled water and lent us their batis - which we needed, we

did get dirty.

You see, Hal took us through the Raku process from beginning to end -
we dug our clay from the creek and clay banks, we prepared it our-
selves which led to some interesting methods - such as bare feet, -
jumping on it, pounding with iron bars. One really learnt a lot about
clay for one hal to make it into a good body if one was going to make
anything at all.

Hal in his quiet way taught us about Raku. Unless one is from the Orient
one can't fully understand the philosophy; a North American should
develop his own and perhaps adapt the two and be aware of both. Raku

is relatively new in the West; in Japan it has been used in the tea cere-
mony for years. The craft has been passed down from father to son.
Subtlety is the essence of Raku. To achieve this you must learn about
self-control If you have ever done Raku you will realize that to

produce 2 piece that is subtle and delicate as well as strong in self-
expression and character takes a combination of craftsmanship, con-
trol and mental attitude.

We not only made the traditional teabow1] but also tiles and sculpture.
We built three kilns. To do this we made excursions to the local brick
factory for scrap brick and the auto junk yard for steel bars for the
fireboxes. All kilns worked really well; they were top loading which
called for a little singed hair.

The art of glazing and reducing the ware is where Rick and I gained the
most information, for Hal's knowledge and experience in these matters
ig deep. We are very happy to have brought home with us so much
know ledge and we are hoping to be capable of using it in our backyard -
which is what makes Raku dear to us.

It is a beautiful way to learn pottery. We hope that more pottery
workshops happen and that they are beautiful too.