Raku Rayguns: Super Cool One of A Kind Ceramic Ray Guns

Way out in Wyoming, there’s a man named West Mangoon. A potter by trade and the owner of Muddy Mountain Pottery, Mangoon is not your normal every day potter. Sure, he could probably make a kick ass ash tray and he can most definitely throw a sweet bowl on the potter’s wheel, but for West, his real inspiration comes from ray guns.

He calls them Raku Ray Guns. They are one-of-a-kind ceramic sculptures inspired by alien technology unearthed at a secret UFO crash site, known only to a tribe of Wyoming Hill People. Each ray gun that Mangoon creates is named after a classic science fiction author or character. The moon crater wall plaques that support the guns each measure 12″ wide by 9″ high.

Each sculpture is hand-built by assembling several parts that have been made on the potter’s wheel. All of the Ray Guns are glazed and fired using the low-fire raku firing technique. The sculptures are pulled from the kiln while the glaze is red-hot and molten and placed into a metal barrel filled with newspaper which is then covered. This smothers the fire, which creates a reduction atmosphere, giving the glazes their metallic look.