Pat Southwood on sat 16 jul 05
Hi,
Frances,
As a result of being paired with a couple of Norfolk thatchers, for a =
Creative Arts East bursary (www.creativeartseast.co.uk) I hauled away =
50yr old reed that had come off roofs that were being rethatched. Also =
they let me dig about in their bonfire place at their yard. I have also =
just aqquired some brand new reed that is the cut off bits from the =
vicarage on the other side of the green that has just been done.
It will be interesting to see if there is any difference in reed that =
has been rained on for 70yrs with nitrates and stuff and brand new reed =
that has only had a couple of years worth.
I have access to a red'n kiln at the college where I lecture and did =
some experiments there, to good effect..
But the reality is that I have an electric top loader. Reed ash is about =
55% silica so you are half way there already, 50/50 ash and either red =
clay or ball clay, or your own clay body.......
I started off by doing a tri -axle blend=20
100 % Ball clay
100% Ash (unwashed, seived 80's mesh)
100% Potash Feldspar
28 tiles. Picked the ones i liked best and took it from there.
I have to admit to a rather cool opaque turquoise glaze that was a =
complete suprise, I think I may have transposed a couple of ingredients, =
because I made it up during Open Studios ( yes, I know)=20
Fortunatly I made a whacking amount of it.
I have also put sieved ash in white slip under glazes and sieved ash =
over wet slip in a suitably artistic fashion. Sometimes I scraffito back =
through this.
I am now using porcelain slip over oxsidizing St. Thomas body at 1260 .=20
I'll have a go at putting some pictures up, but dont hold your breath, =
I'm not totally clued up on all this stuff.
Best,
Pat Southwood.
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