Ceramic artist, Lillian Rubin, of Burlington, Iowa has brought in some new pieces for the Buchanan Center for the Arts Gift Shop. Her raku pieces are formed on a pottery wheel, carved, and fired to 1830 degrees in an outdoor kiln. The kiln is opened while still hot, and each piece is carefully removed and put into a metal container filled with pine needles. The top is quickly replaced and as the oxygen is consumed, base metals are pulled out of the glaze producing iridescent copper, red, blue, and green colors.