[catpaws]

I have 2 wood burners so have access to a limitless supply of wood ash. I'd like to have a go at making an ash glaze but haven't a clue where to start or even if it's worth it. Can anyone point me in the right direction and give me tips regarding thickness of application etc? (I've heard it's very runny stuff)

[Marcia Selsor]

Not all ash glazes are runny. What temp. are you considering? Atmosphere?
Marcia

[catpaws]

Marcia Selsor, on 17 May 2012 - 01:41 PM, said:

Not all ash glazes are runny. What temp. are you considering? Atmosphere?
Marcia

to be honest I hadn't given any thought to temp etc as I don't know if I should fire to earthenware temps or stoneware.Probably fire in an electric kiln but it's possible I could use a gas fired kiln. I'm sounding a bit vague I know but I wasn't aware there were so many options.

[catpaws]

catpaws, on 17 May 2012 - 04:09 PM, said:

Marcia Selsor, on 17 May 2012 - 01:41 PM, said:

Not all ash glazes are runny. What temp. are you considering? Atmosphere?
Marcia

to be honest I hadn't given any thought to temp etc as I don't know if I should fire to earthenware temps or stoneware.Probably fire in an electric kiln but it's possible I could use a gas fired kiln. I'm sounding a bit vague I know but I wasn't aware there were so many options. may even raku fire.

[neilestrick]

When you say wood burners, do you mean wood burning kilns? If so, that ash is not good for ash glazes. Any other ash is fine, though.

Ash is primarily calcium, so it is a flux in glazes. You can use ash in any glaze as a source of calcium. However when most people say 'ash glaze', they are referring to the type that is very fluid, with rivulets/webby runs. Basically they are a high calcium glaze. There are a million recipes out there on the interwebs, so just do some searches and start testing.

As for the ash itself, I prefer to used washed ash, as it gets a lot of the caustic material out and makes it safer to handle the glaze, especially if spraying. I have friends who do not wash their ash (giggle), mostly due to laziness. To wash it, put it in a bucket with a lot of water, let it settle out, decant the water, add new water. Repeat half a dozen times. You'll notice the water is less slippery/slimy each time. Then sieve it and dry it out before using.

[Marcia Selsor]

My friend Ann Fallis Elliot had several of her ^ 6 electric wood ash glazes that were published in a book called Smashing Glazes along with Tom Coleman and others. She lived in Tribeca area of NYC and gathered wood ash from friends and neighbors.
The advantage of fireplace ash is that it is free, and is an excellent flux. Because it is a "light and fluffy" material, it takes up a large bulk of the glaze. For example. Here is her blue matt ash Cone 6 glaze.
wood ash 1200
neph syen. 1800
talc 900
ball clay 900
cobalt carb 144
rutile 144
5088 grams
This ash glaze will fill up a 5 gallon bucket.....where a 9,000 gram batch of the more common chemicals would be needed to fill a 5 gallon bucket. She does not wash the ash. She warns it is caustic, wear gloves. Unwashed ash contains a lot of lye. Use carefully.


Marcia

[SShirley]

There was an interesting little tidbit in a John Britt video (Popping Glazes) on youtube recently where he mentioned keeping a container of epsom salts mixed with water handy and after dipping a pot in shino (which has soda ash) he dips his fingers in the epsom salts to help neutralize the caustic effects of the glaze on his skin. Maybe it would work the same with wood ash glazes. Might be worth a try.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=qIpI0BIBGH4

Marcia Selsor, on 17 May 2012 - 03:25 PM, said:

My friend Ann Fallis Elliot had several of her ^ 6 electric wood ash glazes that were published in a book called Smashing Glazes along with Tom Coleman and others. She lived in Tribeca area of NYC and gathered wood ash from friends and neighbors.
The advantage of fireplace ash is that it is free, and is an excellent flux. Because it is a "light and fluffy" material, it takes up a large bulk of the glaze. For example. Here is her blue matt ash Cone 6 glaze.
wood ash 1200
neph syen. 1800
talc 900
ball clay 900
cobalt carb 144
rutile 144
5088 grams
This ash glaze will fill up a 5 gallon bucket.....where a 9,000 gram batch of the more common chemicals would be needed to fill a 5 gallon bucket. She does not wash the ash. She warns it is caustic, wear gloves. Unwashed ash contains a lot of lye. Use carefully.


Marcia

[Marcia Selsor]

That is a good tip. I have epsom salts in the shop for other purposes. Never thought about it neutralizing here but it makes sense.
Marcia

[catpaws]

Marcia Selsor, on 17 May 2012 - 08:25 PM, said:

My friend Ann Fallis Elliot had several of her ^ 6 electric wood ash glazes that were published in a book called Smashing Glazes along with Tom Coleman and others. She lived in Tribeca area of NYC and gathered wood ash from friends and neighbors.
The advantage of fireplace ash is that it is free, and is an excellent flux. Because it is a "light and fluffy" material, it takes up a large bulk of the glaze. For example. Here is her blue matt ash Cone 6 glaze.
wood ash 1200
neph syen. 1800
talc 900
ball clay 900
cobalt carb 144
rutile 144
5088 grams
This ash glaze will fill up a 5 gallon bucket.....where a 9,000 gram batch of the more common chemicals would be needed to fill a 5 gallon bucket. She does not wash the ash. She warns it is caustic, wear gloves. Unwashed ash contains a lot of lye. Use carefully.


Marcia

[catpaws]

neilestrick, on 17 May 2012 - 05:18 PM, said:

When you say wood burners, do you mean wood burning kilns? If so, that ash is not good for ash glazes. Any other ash is fine, though.

Ash is primarily calcium, so it is a flux in glazes. You can use ash in any glaze as a source of calcium. However when most people say 'ash glaze', they are referring to the type that is very fluid, with rivulets/webby runs. Basically they are a high calcium glaze. There are a million recipes out there on the interwebs, so just do some searches and start testing.

As for the ash itself, I prefer to used washed ash, as it gets a lot of the caustic material out and makes it safer to handle the glaze, especially if spraying. I have friends who do not wash their ash (giggle), mostly due to laziness. To wash it, put it in a bucket with a lot of water, let it settle out, decant the water, add new water. Repeat half a dozen times. You'll notice the water is less slippery/slimy each time. Then sieve it and dry it out before using.

Thanks for that Neil. Yes the ash will come from wood burning fires, not kilns so that's good. I will definitely wash it. Thanks.
Catherine

[catpaws]

[quote name='catpaws' date='18 May 2012 - 09:57 AM' timestamp='1337335063' post='17273']
[quote name='Marcia Selsor' date='17 May 2012 - 08:25 PM' timestamp='1337286319' post='17245']
My friend Ann Fallis Elliot had several of her ^ 6 electric wood ash glazes that were published in a book called Smashing Glazes along with Tom Coleman and others. She lived in Tribeca area of NYC and gathered wood ash from friends and neighbors.
The advantage of fireplace ash is that it is free, and is an excellent flux. Because it is a "light and fluffy" material, it takes up a large bulk of the glaze. For example. Here is her blue matt ash Cone 6 glaze.
wood ash 1200
neph syen. 1800
talc 900
ball clay 900
cobalt carb 144
rutile 144
5088 grams
This ash glaze will fill up a 5 gallon bucket.....where a 9,000 gram batch of the more common chemicals would be needed to fill a 5 gallon bucket. She does not wash the ash. She warns it is caustic, wear gloves. Unwashed ash contains a lot of lye. Use carefully.


Marcia
Thanks for the info Marcia. I am going to give this recipe a go and also look out for the book too. Many thanks.
Catherine

[LilyT]

neilestrick, on 17 May 2012 - 10:18 AM, said:

When you say wood burners, do you mean wood burning kilns? If so, that ash is not good for ash glazes. Any other ash is fine, though.

Ash is primarily calcium, so it is a flux in glazes. You can use ash in any glaze as a source of calcium. However when most people say 'ash glaze', they are referring to the type that is very fluid, with rivulets/webby runs. Basically they are a high calcium glaze. There are a million recipes out there on the interwebs, so just do some searches and start testing.

As for the ash itself, I prefer to used washed ash, as it gets a lot of the caustic material out and makes it safer to handle the glaze, especially if spraying. I have friends who do not wash their ash (giggle), mostly due to laziness. To wash it, put it in a bucket with a lot of water, let it settle out, decant the water, add new water. Repeat half a dozen times. You'll notice the water is less slippery/slimy each time. Then sieve it and dry it out before using.

Hi, Neil, I'm just curious why ash from wood burning kilns is not good
for ash glazes? Is it the particular kind of wood they might be using?
We have fired with oak and pine and various mixed hardwoods (whatever
was easily available) and have then used that ash in a few ash glazes. Now
I'm definitely an amateur so quite likely there's something I'm missing
and don't even realize it, I'd love to learn more .

Thanks,
Lily