DANVILLE — On the hottest days of summer, Suzie Berkes is often in the back yard of her Danville home, working diligently over a smoldering metal can and wearing a fireproof long-sleeved jacket and oversized protective gloves.

This local artist is practicing her latest passion — American Raku, which evolved from the art of Japanese Raku that was popular as early as 1603.

The Japanese tea masters wanted tea bowls that reflected the beautiful imperfection that Raku art exemplifies. Japanese Raku embodies both the Zen philosophy and the aesthetic concept of “wabi,” which finds beauty in objects that are simple, imperfect and natural.

One of Berkes’ favorite Raku projects is a set of 12 tiles that she made three years ago for her son Sam and his wife, Brooke, as a wedding gift.

“I asked them to hang the tiles on the wall and rearrange them throughout their marriage as their relationship grew and changed,” Berkes said.

“I purposely used only materials that I had on hand for this set of tiles, to symbolize the frugal lifestyle that typifies the early years of a marriage.”

Berkes recently completed her master’s degree in art education from the University of Illinois and has decided to focus on public commission work. “I am looking for commissions all over the country — places such as airports, parks, and housing developments,” Berkes said.

Her most visible project in Danville is a 24-foot-long brick sculpture outside Danville Metal Stamping’s corporate offices on Oakwood Avenue, near the entrance to Ellsworth Park. This bas-relief carving took Berkes about a year to complete and was her first installed work, back in the fall of 2007.

Firing in intense heat is the heart of the American Raku technique. No one can predict exactly what the results will look like when the piece is finished. Glazes crackle in interesting patterns and metallic oxides change colors.

Different colors from a single glaze appear in different areas of one piece, depending upon the amount of oxygen present during the firing and in the large can during the post-firing reduction process.

Berkes first cuts several raw bricks in thirds and then paints them with different colors of copper-based glazes made from “recipes” that she has acquired. She then places them into an electric Raku kiln until the individual pieces reach a temperature of about 1,800 degrees F.

For the post-firing reduction technique, Berkes adds a variety of natural materials such as straw, leaves, cedar chips, newspaper, copper wire, pine cones and horsehair to create the carbon that is driven into the clay bricks through the reduction process.

After visual inspection, Berkes removes each brick individually from the kiln with long tongs. The can containing the hot bricks and natural materials is quickly covered, and the smoke and carbon are absorbed by the bricks wherever there is no glaze.

Interesting impressions often appear in the smoky, unglazed areas. Carbon is also driven into the crackle patterns of the glazes while they are cooling in the can.

Each brick is gently removed from the smoky “soak” and is quickly quenched in water so that it will cool evenly without breaking. Once the pieces are cool enough to handle, they are rinsed in clean water, washed, and allowed to air dry.

“Look at the beautiful, smoky look of this tile,” Berkes said, holding one up. “I just love to see what patterns and colors are created naturally through Raku.”

Through the years, pottery has been the artist’s area of concentration. She is also adept at glass blowing, ceramics, and silk screening. She has done brick carvings as embellishments for fireplaces and walls.

Berkes is working on a sculpture for an art exhibit at Sleepy Creek Vineyards in Fairmount that will open on Sept. 26.

“We’ve invited some of the best artists we know to exhibit,” said Joe Taylor, co-owner of Sleepy Creek. “We’ve asked each of them to come up with a piece of artwork using a river theme to coincide with the Salt Fork River Art Festival.

“Suzie has exhibited some very unique and different artwork out here over the years, which fits our tastes well,” he added. “I especially like her Raku pieces; they are very organic.”

Berkes started taking her art seriously after her husband, Jim, and their four children moved to Danville 15 years ago. Before that she taught international students English as a second language.

Since she’s lived in Danville, Berkes has taught art at St. Paul’s Grade School and the high school of St. Thomas More in Champaign. She currently teaches at Boneyard Pottery in Champaign.

“My students in Champaign really love working with the Raku technique,” Berkes said. “They like the idea of playing with fire.

“I’m so excited because I have two tons of raw bricks waiting for me to work on at the Colonial Brick Corp in Cayuga, Ind.,” she said. “They even gave me a garage out there that I can use as an art studio.

“I have so many projects in my head,” Berkes added. “I don’t know which one to start on first.”

FYI

For more information, e-mail the artist at suzieberkes@yahoo.com.