Billie Mitchell on mon 11 oct 04
I decided to bite the bullet finally and make my own wood ash.. i have
been saving the wood from some old peach trees from my yard. i had been
told that fruit trees make wonderful wood ash.
i didnt realize is that my show that i had coming up was a week sooner
than i thought so i have to move quickly to get everything done. i have
these wonderful new pieces that i made just for these new glazes. i
figured i would burn the wood in an old barbecue grill we still had. i
came up with this wonderful idea of taking a turkey roasting pan to burn
my wood in so i wouldnt have anything in it contaminating my ash but good
old wood.. i set about gathering up the wood and had a beautiful fire
going. i looked down and i had a hole burned right through the bottom..
silly me.. i should have known that the turkey roaster wasnt strong enough
to hold up to such a fire. here was my peach tree limbs in the fire just
burning away.. i have to move quick to save the ashes and the burning
fire. i came up with what i thought was a brillant idea! i ran and got an
old canning pan that i had stored in the shed.. i put the burning limbs
into the pan.. and kept adding more and more and more and more.. who would
think that a little 5 gal pan could hold so much! a couple of hrs later i
had a 5 gal pan full of ashes and coals.. so i thought oh it will burn out
and be cool by morning and i can make my glazes early.. wrong again.. i
got up the next morning and it was till burning.. now what do i do.. i sit
in the middle of my driveway and take scoopful by scoopful out and dump it
into the turkey roaster (the one with the hole plugged up)to let it cool
and go back and get more as each batch cools.. i pick the larger coals out
and put them back in to finish burning.. now what i sight i must have
been. (if my neighbors were watching they must think i one of those crazy
old ladies who go bonkers with age.)
it took me hrs to get that beloved peach ash.. but i did succeed! all
that work and i only got about a half of a gallon of ash.. i sure hope it
was worth all the work i went through..i am now firing 9 different test
recipes. i have learned a new respect of potters who do ash glazes..
billie mitchell
livingspiritpottery@comcast.net
Url Krueger on mon 11 oct 04
On Sun, 2004-10-10 at 21:27, Billie Mitchell wrote:
> now what i sight i must have
> been. (if my neighbors were watching they must think i one of those crazy
> old ladies who go bonkers with age.)
Ms. Billie,
Perhaps you still know how to play, and they don't !!!
Try punching some holes around the base of the canning pan to let air
in. Your coals will burn much better and you won't lose much ash.
--
Earl K...
Who still knows how to play and doesn't give a rat's... what others think.
Bothell WA, USA
"You may be disappointed if you fail,
but you are doomed if you don't try."
Beverly Sills (1929 - )
Hank Murrow on mon 11 oct 04
On Oct 10, 2004, at 9:27 PM, Billie Mitchell wrote:
> I decided to bite the bullet finally and make my own wood ash.......I
> have been saving the wood from some old peach trees from my yard. I
> had been told that fruit trees make wonderful wood ash.
Dear Billie;
You have a wonderful resource in that peach ash, though any fruitwood
ash will work much the same, so don't hesitate to mix them if you have
a supply. The main difference between fruitwood ash and others is the
Phosphorus they contain, which can encourage reddish shino colors from
Iron, or even the lovely bluish tinges from Chun-type glazes. The
smaller the twigs, the more Phosphorus. Keep your prunings! And don't
be anxious to use it up just for a show....... savour it. Many fine
glazes there.
Cheers, Hank
murrow.biz/hank
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