Richard Aerni on wed 17 mar 10
Hello dear friends!
After reading a great many posts about bare-handing it around wood ash =3D
glaze, vinegar baths, not having unwashed ash anywhere in the studio, =3D
etc, I've decided to come out of the closet with my own set of =3D
recommendations. Listen or not, your call...but I've been working =3D
pretty exclusively with wood ash glazes for better than thirty years =3D
now, seven days a week, month after month...
First, if you're going to be throwing the stuff around, or spraying it =3D
without using a VERY good spraybooth (such as the one I built for myself =
=3D
with pics available on either my website or blog), which pretty much =3D
eliminates all blowback, then by all means wear a mask. Not just one =3D
of those little white dust masks, but a cannister type dust mask which =3D
will actually do some good work. =3D20
I use unwashed ash. I like the halos that the alkalinity of the =3D
unwashed ash leaves on bare clay, and the extra added interaction with =3D
other glazes that the added fluxes provide. But, if you're going to use =
=3D
unwashed ash, please do yourself a favor and use gloves. I always have =3D
a couple of boxes of those powdered latex exam gloves around the studio. =
=3D
If you're sensitive to latex, there are others around that avoid that =3D
problem...CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid...all the major drug stores stock =3D
them. They're cheap for the benefits they provide. I prefer the =3D
thinner gloves just because they don't take away my sense of feel. I =3D
appreciate and use all my senses when potting. =3D20
I don't really know about the efficacy of the vinegar rinse/bath and =3D
resetting your skin's ph balance. I just know I wouldn't want to be =3D
stirring ash glazes or really any glazes barehanded. I have a bunch of =3D
whisks, stirring sticks, rubber spatulas and such for simple mixing. =3D
Immersion blenders, jiffler mixers, and rotary sieves work for bigger =3D
jobs. After a long day's work spraying glazes, I always shower =3D
thoroughly upon returning home. No matter how good the spray booth, and =
=3D
how carefully you try to prevent getting dusty, you will have stuff on =3D
your skin that you would probably rather not have there. I used to try =3D
a simple hand bath of diluted apple cider vinegar at the end of the day =3D
in the studio, to prevent dried/chapped/splitting hands and fingers, but =
=3D
never really noticed any difference long-term. But I get the concept, =3D
in a chemistry way...
That's about it for now. I won't go into washed versus unwashed ash, or =
=3D
any of the other peculiarities of ash glazing, because so much is =3D
subjective and properly rests in the purview of each practitioner. I =3D
hope this provides a bit of insight, and doesn't set off another set of =3D
how-tos. I'm really not interested in fighting about stuff...I just =3D
know what has worked for me.
Best,
Richard
Richard Aerni
Rochester, NY =3D20
www.richardaerni.com
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