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RAKU & CERAMICS
Kurt McCracken
Kurt McCracken's eye for traditional forms and his 6'4" frame affords him the ability to wheel-throw one piece of clay into extraordinarily large size forms. Often his vessels will exceed three feet in height. He loves to vary his art forms, creating large wall hangings, sculptures with glass and decorative plates. Some of his more contemporary works are ceramic towers (up to 8 feet tall) and abstract sports designs.
McCracken has developed a fresh approach to the Asian art of Raku, which dates back to the 16th century. Because of the large scale of his creations, he has had to design and build his own Raku kilns. McCracken selects special clay for each of his hand glazed pieces, which are individually fired at 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. These red hot pieces are then hand transferred from the kiln to the reduction barrel. McCracken's glazes are oxidized with natural materials such as pine needles, leaves and straw. This abrupt oxidation process is what produces the color, crackle and intensity McCracken seeks in his work.
Kurt McCracken was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attributes his artistic talent to his father and grandfather, who were both design engineers. McCracken was always interested in the arts, and first began experimenting with clay in his high school ceramics class. After high school, McCracken worked the waters of Chesapeake Bay as a crab and oysterman. In 1984, he returned to his love of clay and by the late 1980's had established himself as a self-taught ceramic artist.
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We take phone orders and ship anywhere in the world. For more information, please call
888-858-1164 (US), 530-621-1164 (Int'l), or email info@bennettgallery.net.
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