Browse Hawaii Craftsmen’s raku show with an artist and the elegant roomful of ceramic creations comes alive with back-stories of potters and their inventive techniques and pieces.

The ARTS at Marks Garage is housing 82 selected traditional and contemporary raku and pit-fired works, fruits of the 34th Annual Raku Ho’olaule’a Juried Exhibition, through July 31.

Numerous works in the show were crafted in the style of "naked raku," which entails covering an unglazed pot with a "slip" — wet clay the consistency of cake batter — and then a clear glaze into which the artist carves designs. Potter Cindy Chapanot, who was gallery-sitting earlier this week, pointed out the various works fashioned in the technique.

"It’s like a twice-baked potato," she said of the process.

When the piece is heated in the kiln, the slip bakes and cracks off, and the finished piece bears the design. Ramon Camarillo, whose third-place contemporary pot, "Ants on Top," was created in naked raku fashion, introduced the technique in Hawaii last year at a class for the Hawaii Potters Guild.

Then there’s Philip Markwart, who took home an honorable mention for his traditional pot. Markwart invented a wood-burning kiln fashioned from, of all things, a propane tank. The artist hollowed out the inside, shelved the vessel and added a chute in which to feed wood sticks, one at a time.

"He sits there for hours and hours," said Chapanot, who got a nod of confirmation from Roseanne Jones, Hawaii Craftsmen executive director.

The results of Markwart’s technique are unglazed pots that nonetheless display a gorgeous sheen.

"Every piece has a story," Jones said. "Some artists do all sort of techniques; others do one technique over and over to perfect it."

One such perfectionist is Jerome Heck. The artist was captured on video at the hoolaulea creating "First Flight," a raku dragon finished in Heck’s telltale textured green matte glaze. In the video, posted on YouTube, Heck dons a full-body reflective spacesuit as he lifts the dragon from deep inside a kiln with his own gloved hands. Viewers can hear the cheers of the crowd as the dragon is pulled, glowing red in pitch darkness, from the flames.

Heck earned an honorable-mention nod for another piece in the show, "Float My Pot."

THE JURIED SHOW, the culmination of the June public firing weekend at Waimanalo Beach Park, was selected from 205 submitted pieces.

As raku has its roots in the 400-year-old Zen tea ceremony, the traditional category was juried by the Urasenke Foundation of Hawaii, which perpetuates the tradition.

Ed Higa of the foundation reflects the Zen aesthetic with "Autumn Brown," a tea bowl that embodies the fine qualities of traditional raku. The lip of the bowl is wavy to allow a practitioner to rest a brush, and its weight and size conform to an aesthetic that alters with the seasons, says Chapanot. The work earned Higa an honorable mention.

Contemporary juror was international ceramist Eduardo Lazo, a recognized expert in alternative raku and low-fire techniques. As part of his jurying stint, Lazo gave public lectures and conducted demonstrations and workshops.

In his juror’s statement, Lazo shares his delight at the creative force of emerging artists and the high quality of work produced by Hawaii potters at large.

In fact, while Lazo’s picks include usual suspects such as Jeff Chang, Joel Park, Camarillo and Higa, he also awarded emerging artists such as partners in clay Dustin Miyakawa and Chelsea Freemont. Miyakawa took first place in the contemporary division, while he and Freemont earned third in the traditional category.

Also of note: Russell Wee, whose gear-adorned work makes reference to the mechanical, and Daniel Harano, whose "Red Rocket" comes complete with screws and colorful electrical wire.

"Each and every piece accepted into the show is a gem of creativity in clay," Lazo wrote in his statement.

Chapanot herself earned an award with her raku and ferric "pillows," titled "Sweet Dreams." Yet it is her incredibly detailed "Boy’s Day" sculpture that reflects the spirit of creative industriousness that Lazo so admires.

The piece, depicting traditional samurai armor, was inspired by real armor on display at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. It comprises myriad strips of clay, textured in numerous designs with stamps Chapanot fashioned herself that collectively form the scaled gear of ancient Japanese warriors.

Chapanot said the piece required lots of planning, something her finest ceramic teachers stress.

"That’s what Jeff (Chang) will tell you. You have to know what you’re looking for in a finished piece. ‘Ceramics is not a surprise,’ he says."

While the firing process presents "happy surprises," said Chapanot, "you must have a vision."