Ash Glaze

[newby Jan]

Can you use ash glazes when firing in an electric kiln?

 

[Diane Puckett]

Yes. For more info, click in Ceramic Arts Daily at the top of this page and search for "ash glaze oxidation" .

[Biglou13]

short answer ....... yes.

 

let us know if you want the long one

 

newby jan

 

whom we know nothing about..... with no gallery pictures..... with no profile.

 

welcome 

 

but please help us to help you.

 

what cone temp are you firing, what recipe are you using, what kind of ash, what kind of clay,  your kiln, group kiln,  catch tray, tested or not, texture or not,   do you have a catch rim built in????????

 

you gotta give us more

[newby Jan]

Well, I don't know the answer to your questions Biglou13.  There is a wonderful pottery store 2 towns down that fire my little beginner items for a modest price.  But, I live in NC and I took one wheel throwing class at the local community college, then 2 other handbuilding classes there recently.  Before I took any classes at all, I watched every video on Youtube on pottery, and read almost every article on this site.  And I went to local pottery festivals to see and touch and buy.  Then, I began buying tools, a little at a time ( based on what experienced potters recommended).  In my classes we made stamps and sprigs, and I continue to do that at home.  The things I threw on the wheel were, ummm, well they were referred to as "primitive".  NOT the look I was going for.  I might take another wheel throwing class down the road (I saved up for a wheel but it will stay in its box till I master cylinders), but for now my goal is to make 6 plates, bowls, and cups.  We belong to the Blind Pigs Horseshoe Club, and there is a chapter in Ohio.  Our friends in Ohio brought me some Ohio clay, and there is an old moonshine still on the family property with revenuer hatchet holes that has some good flaky rust on the top.  And we have 2 campout parties a year where the large fire pit burns hardwoods.  So, there is access to iron oxide and ash.  Want to figure out how to best use these in my dinnerware plan.  It is all experimentation right now.  Making tiles to play around with the stamps/stencils/patterns/texture and to take the clay I buy from the local pottery shop and encorporate the Ohio lighter colored clay in slips, etc.  One day I'd like to dig my own clay and process it for use, but that is down the road a bit.  Whenever I make a little cup or plate or tiles, I use the leftover bits to make pendants.  People say, 'oh, it's just mud', but I don't want to waste a single giblet of the clay.  I work fulltime/overtime, yuk, as a RN in the local hospital, so there is never enough time to play in my clay.  Hope to retire early, in 3 years.  Then, by gosh, there will be much pottery makin' goin' on round here!  My home county is well-known for pottery, going back many generations.  So, I observe and learn every chance I get.  The ultimate experience would be to dig it, process it, use it and decorate it with locally sourced minerals.  I have a box of rutile that I found sluicing in a nearby area known for mineral mines, and I'm reading about that in glazes.  hmmmm, an idea is brewing.  I once grew some green/brown cotton, harvested it, picked out the seeds, combed it, spun it with my handmade spindle, and knitted with it.  That gives you an idea of how much I enjoy the process of making from scratch.  The LEARNING.  That is where it's at!  K.  There is some information about me.  Just a newbie who is very excited and calm at the same time while playing in the clay.

[Diane Puckett]

Where in NC are you? There are a lot of pottery resources in NC.

[bciskepottery]

Yes, ash can be fired in an electric kiln. Some potters will use an ash glaze, where the ashes are mixed as one of the ingredients in a glaze recipe.  Others may sprinkle dry ash over a glaze pot and let them sit on the surface.  You also have a choice between washed and unwashed ash.  Unwashed ash is ash straight from the firepit, perhaps sieved once or twice to remove large chunks of wood that haven't completely fired and broken down.  Washed is ash that is put in a bucket of water, allowed to sit and let the more caustic impurities rise, water drained and process repeated a couple times until the water come out relatively clean.  Then you allow the ashes to dry and use as a powder -- either as an ingredient in a glaze recipe or sprinkled on top of wet glaze.  Be aware that ashes are caustic and can irritate; use proper protection when handling and processing.

 

Most of the running glaze effects you might be seeing are from wood fired kilns, where ash from the wood burned to heat the kiln freely float through the kiln chamber and glaze the wares.  You can get ash effects in an electric kiln, but it will take experimenting and testing to get the application correct.  Others get ash-like effects by using "fake ash" glaze recipes that mimic the effect of ash.  As you are using another person's kiln for firing, be sure to talk this over with him/her; some are reluctant to fire ash as it may affect kiln elements.  Ash glazes tend to be runny as ashes are a source of flux materials that make glazes melt . . . so keep that in mind in your designs and glaze application.  Some recommend applying glaze to only the top third or quarter of an item. 

 

Try to find a copy of Phil Rogers book on Ash Glazes, or a similar title.  Talk to a potter at a craft fair that uses ash and ask for advice.  And, good luck with your exploration . . .

[oldlady]

you sound as excited as all of us are even after years of "playing" with clay.  get a copy of any basic book re the whole process. youtube is great but a basic understanding comes from many sources as you are discovering.  having a book to check something out is a valuable resource that is available all the time. john kenny and glenn nelson did great books, several editions each.  they may look old but the info is sound.  and, being old, they may be less expensive. they are a good start to a library of your own that will undoubtedly grow as the years pass.

 

GET THAT WHEEL OUT OF THE BOX.  WHAT YOU NEED IS PRACTICE!!

[Biglou13]

(I saved up for a wheel but it will stay in its box till I master cylinders),

".....till I master cylinders"

 

That's the wisest! Thing I've heard In a long time!!!!!!!

 

He'll still practice making cylinders. Somes good sometimes not so. But I wish I listened to my first instructors. And learned to make a cylinder earlier. Vs going of the res. ad trying to make my own thing. Once I got a firm grasp on the basics ....... My creativity I proved exponentially. U have special respect to those to desire to and venture into making clay. And others that venture into true core of their work. Like your cotton. I just made my first batch of clay and will be making a different body on my next day off..

 

Thanks for the info..... ( i was going out of my way to be acidic). We have a lot in common. Please share some of your ash glaze experience with us. Hit up restaurants with wood burning pizza ovens, and BBQ joints for some free ash. Be careful use metal container it's never as cool as they say it is. Don't ask me ow I know. If you go ahead and wet it and screen it later you may be better off and safer. So far the few ash trials I've had. We're failures .....but they weren't very educated tries. I'm determined to get one to work. I'm hoping some one will drop us a hint with a working recipe. Like bsick says they can be very runny. I'm sticking to insides and Top third of pieces for my next tests. I've seen some recipes where its basically 1/2 ash 1/2 red clay. But I need to do more research for electric oxidation cone 5/6 firing

 

Welcome

[Biglou13]

 

(I saved up for a wheel but it will stay in its box till I master cylinders),

".....till I master cylinders"

That's the wisest! Thing I've heard In a long time!!!!!!!

He'll still practice making cylinders. Somes good sometimes not so. But I wish I listened to my first instructors. And learned to make a cylinder earlier. Vs going of the res. ad trying to make my own thing. Once I got a firm grasp on the basics ....... My creativity I proved exponentially. U have special respect to those to desire to and venture into making clay. And others that venture into true core of their work. Like your cotton. I just made my first batch of clay and will be making a different body on my next day off..

Thanks for the info..... ( i was going out of my way to be acidic). We have a lot in common. Please share some of your ash glaze experience with us. Hit up restaurants with wood burning pizza ovens, and BBQ joints for some free ash. Be careful use metal container it's never as cool as they say it is. Don't ask me ow I know. If you go ahead and wet it and screen it later you may be better off and safer. So far the few ash trials I've had. We're failures .....but they weren't very educated tries. I'm determined to get one to work. I'm hoping some one will drop us a hint with a working recipe. Like bsick says they can be very runny. I'm sticking to insides and Top third of pieces for my next tests. I've seen some recipes where its basically 1/2 ash 1/2 red clay. But I need to do more research for electric oxidation cone 5/6 firing

 

+1 what old,lady says about wheel. Get it and start throwing at home if only for practice!

Welcome

[oldlady]

big lou, did you see the chemicals and such from a studio in Titusville?  they were on Potterbarter.  even had Zircopax!

[Guest JBaymore]

Biglou (and all),

 

Good starting point.........

 

33.3 % washed or unwashed wood ash

33.3 % granite dust or any feldspar

33.3 % local red clay or redart

 

Center point of a triaxial blend.  Works niceley about 95% of the time no matter the particular ingredients.  Adjust slightly as needed.

 

best,

 

..........................john

[Biglou13]

old lady i emailed her but never heard back

[oldlady]

she didn't reply to my friends in florida either.  dang................

[newby Jan]

Thanks to all who responded.  Biglou, We built an outdoor pizza oven last year.  That's where I get hardwood ashes.  We are having a campout party next week, so I will get some more ash.  If I can stay sober enough to remember to gather up a cupful, ha.  Yes, yall, I do need to get it out of its box and practice, but we are considering building a rock outbuilding for my pottery stuff (it's piling up in the spare room and kitchen).  That's where the wheel will go.  I've seen other people's pottery areas....messy business, this pottery.

 

 

[Biglou13]

newb jan

thanks for posting ..... motivated me to make an ash glaze  today

made it with oak.    youll need more than a cup full,  once you screen out the chunks

its tricky the wheel in doors  but doable.

i just put canvas drop cloth under wheel then fold it over, over wheel when done everything else stores in laundry room....

working on more shelf space......

[Biglou13]

Biglou (and all),

 

Good starting point.........

 

33.3 % washed or unwashed wood ash

33.3 % granite dust or any feldspar

33.3 % local red clay or redart

 

Center point of a triaxial blend.  Works niceley about 95% of the time no matter the particular ingredients.  Adjust slightly as needed.

 

best,

 

..........................john

 

I've read about similar recipes some say its runny others no. Is this a runny glaze?

If not how would I alter to make it runny?

How would I alter to make less runny?

[MMB]

Im excited to work with some ash as well. Im putting in a Rocket Stove heater in my studio to help keep it warm this winter. Sure I will have plenty of ash from that.

[Rakuken]

The easiest ash for me to obtain is from my BBQ, Kingford briquettes. It burns to a fine dust, I do put it thru a sieve to get it finer and mix it with water to spray it on my pots. I do not wash the ash. Check out my gallery to see my ash glazed pots.

Aloha, Ken

[jrgpots]

The easiest ash for me to obtain is from my BBQ, Kingford briquettes. It burns to a fine dust, I do put it thru a sieve to get it finer and mix it with water to spray it on my pots. I do not wash the ash. Check out my gallery to see my ash glazed pots.

Aloha, Ken

I thought briquettes had a small amount of cement in them. Did you have to adjust your glazes to take into account for the cement?

 

Jed

[Rakuken]

 

The easiest ash for me to obtain is from my BBQ, Kingford briquettes. It burns to a fine dust, I do put it thru a sieve to get it finer and mix it with water to spray it on my pots. I do not wash the ash. Check out my gallery to see my ash glazed pots.

Aloha, Ken

I thought briquettes had a small amount of cement in them. Did you have to adjust your glazes to take into account for the cement?

Jed

I know they add limestone to whiten the ash, is that what you are referring to? I do not add or remove anything or even wash the ash.

Aloha, Ken

[Biglou13]

I get mine from a local BBQ restaurant, also look for restaurant with wood burning pizza oven.

 

I'm told its mostly oak.

 

...?since recipe starts with a red clay, will this clay still color eg copper carbonate?

[jrgpots]

That is great to know.  I may use your recipes with my Bar B Que ash then..  BTW your work is beatiful.  I took a look at your gallery.

[Biglou13]

Since this recipe has 33% redart? ( in my case Lizellla)

 

Would adding copper carb. Be futile?

 

I've read where some ash glazes are very runny, and others are not.

.? Do you think this one is runny? What makes some ash glazes runny and others not runny?

[jrgpots]

The main fluxes are Li, N, K Rb, Be, Mg Ca Sr, Ba. Of these Na, K, Mg, Ca, Sr are in ash.  The more the flux in general the runnier the glaze.  However, grass, bamboo, tumble weeds, palm leaves, etc. are also high in Silica which tends to make the glaze harder and less runny. I guess you just try it, find out how runny and go from there.

 

I have a lot of tumble weed ash, living in the dessert.  I also have mixed hardwood ash as well as walnut ash.  I thought I would mix the tumbleweed ash with the mixed harwood to see if i can control the melting point and runnines of an ash glaze.  If anyone want tumbleweed ash.........just ask.  I 'll send you some.

 

I understand the amount of silica in the ash defines wheather that ash is considered soft, medium, or hard.

 

That being said,  I am only repeating what I have read.  So take it for what is worth.

 

Jed

[Biglou13]

Biglou (and all),

 

Good starting point.........

 

33.3 % washed or unwashed wood ash

33.3 % granite dust or any feldspar

33.3 % local red clay or redart

 

Center point of a triaxial blend. Works niceley about 95% of the time no matter the particular ingredients. Adjust slightly as needed.

 

best,

 

..........................john

http://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/gallery/image/3876-ash-glaze-detail/

 

Results of above recipe

 

I used wood ash from BBQ restaurant

Lizella clay

Custer feldspar, and nepsy

 

Well turns out John b says it shouldn't work @ cone 6

 

Well it made a glaze..... It kinda just lays there , earthy brown sort of satin like finish part matte part shiny.

Some small black specks prolly from impurities in ash

It doesn't run. See finger mark from dipping lower left

Not what I was thinking as result but I thought it was some what a successful run.

It's a little too well behaved

I was expecting some misbehavin'

 

No leach tests run. Yet But no real " nasties" in this one.

 

I need to tweak it I think I'd like to see it a bit more glassy I think ill up the flux and see what happens and maybe some some colorants