Messenger - Vol. 4, No. 2, Page 15 1995 Raku view Graduate instructors in ceramics Mia Muratori and Brent Schwab (in front) show art students Elissa Shanley, Delaware '96, and Susan Ames (right rear) how to unload a raku kiln. The raku process, a low- fire, reduction technique of firing clay developed by the ancient Japanese, gives a smoky lustre to copper and gold glazes on pottery.