The public is invited to watch Akron raku master Jack Valentine make his art at Don Drumm Studios & Gallery  on October 13.  The raku firing process, introduced in Japan in the 16th century, is prized for its dynamic and unpredictable surfaces.  Artworks are fired in a 1900 degrees kiln while the glaze takes on a molten, glassy appearance. Removed from the kiln with red-hot with  tongs, the pots are immediately put in a barrel and covered with sawdust. The sawdust reduces oxygen resulting in metallic glazes and a blackened clay-body. A crackle effect is caused by thermal shock, when the glaze cools  faster  than the clay. Once the pots have cooled, they are removed from the sawdust, washed, and scrubbed with steel wool and pumice soap.