Patty Alander on tue 16 feb 99
I checked in the clayart archives before posting this but couldn't find
anything so here goes........................
This may be a sensitive issue for some people (I've been given grief
over it), however, one of my father's last requests was that I make a
glaze using his ashes and use it on a pot for each of my family
members. My father was always whistling so I knew right away that I
would be making whistles. Luckily whistles are small because I have a
large family - my mom, 10 siblings, their spouses, children, and
grandchildren, etc......there won't be a lot of ash to spare for
testing. Knowing my family I think they would all be happy with a Raku
glaze - which is a good thing because I don't have a high fire reduction
kiln. Somewhere in my files I have a recipe for a raku glaze that
called for bone ash, will human bone ash do??
The second anniversary of his death is coming up, so I thought I should
at least look at the ashes my sister mailed me. It was a strange
experience. Not only for the obvious reasons, but also the fact that
they are not actually ashes. There are small chunks of bone in
there..........am I supposed to use an old blender? I don't know,
creeps me out, but it was his dying wish, and with the right thoughts
and remembrances I know I can honor his wishes - and him - if I know how
to go about it. Any suggestions? I ordinarily love experimenting, but
in this case I would appreciate as much advance info as I can get so
everything will go smoothly. He would laugh if his glaze turned out
funky, but I don't think all of his kids would!
Thanks,
Patty
lpskeen on wed 17 feb 99
Patty Alander wrote:
Not only for the obvious reasons, but also the fact that> they are not
actually ashes. There are small chunks of bone in
> there..........am I supposed to use an old blender?
Patty,
Don't use a blender. Sieve the ashes out. You may also try crushing
some of the bone, and firing them to bisque temps may help as well.
Here are a couple of raku glazes that call for bone ash. I have tested
neither of them.
1. Rainbow Sand
GB 70
Bone ash 20
Neph Sy 10
Li 3
CuCO2 5
CoCO2 .5
2. Silver
GB 80
Bone ash 20
CuCO2 3
CoCO2 2
Manganese 3.5
--
Lisa Skeen ICQ# 15554910
Living Tree Pottery & Soaps http://www.uncg.edu/~lpskeen
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!!! It comes bundled with the software.
The Bill of Rights - (void where prohibited by law)
Burt Cohen on wed 17 feb 99
> Patty
Patty- Odd that I have experience which may be of assistance. Years ago
a woman came to me requesting that I help her with the ashes of her
father in law. It was a sensitive subject because her husband didn't
know she had kept his father's ashes for many years. I thought that she
wanted an urn, but she asked if there was any way to make something more
discreet. In Japan, where I worked as a potter, there are many potter
stories about ashes and I first thought to make a glaze. When I closely
examined the ashes I realized as you mention that only a small
percentage of the material is fine enough. Without going into too
graphic detail of my experiments suffice it to say that bone is hard. I
think that it would be possible to grind the material in a ball mill. If
you do, then you might think including the ashes into the clay rather
then the glaze. You can get away with a lot coarser material. Another
possibility might be to include the ashes sealed within a form, a lamp
for instance. Good luck-Burt
| |
|
