Mark Issenberg on mon 26 sep 05
I love unwashed ash,, I wear gloves when i mix it, I wear a mask when i
spray it.. Whats the big deal..
Mark
Lili Krakowski on mon 26 sep 05
Allyson: I do not like unwashed ash in wet glazing because it is dangerous.
I do occasionally drop a pot I am glazing into the bucket, I think everyone
does, and the idea of a lye splash in my eyes is not inviting. Moreover I
tend to mix up glazes in pretty good volume, I do not like the idea of a lye
containing tub sitting around. As a matter of fact several writers have
spoken against unwashed ash and for washed ash for good technical
reasons--but that is not my concern.
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
David Woof on mon 26 sep 05
I think it would be educational if one or several of our chemists and others
devoted to the study of glaze formulations would publish comparative studies
of the chemistry of the same ash, washed and unwashed.
What do we lose when we wash? What elements are left behind?
my personal use has always been with unwashed because i didn't wish to lose
the soluables. Sometimes I dip off some undisturbed top liquid from a bucket
that has sat and settled and spray this soluable rich liquid as an overspray
to gently modify another glaze with pleasing results.
These soluable elements lend character to the ash glaze as well, and the lye
is not so concentrated from the ash amount typically used to cause me great
concern.
This is not to disrespect or disagree with Lili's concerns, I wear eye
protection and glove up for prolonged handleing or if the sting irritates my
hands.
Folks around the world are still leaching out the "lye" from wood ash, and
with additions of animal or vegetable fat making hand and body washing soap.
As with much of what we use in our studio, we have to handle it
informed and carefully.
David Woof
peering over the edge, reverently taking an irreverent look at everything.
Richard Aerni on tue 27 sep 05
On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 19:16:01 -0500, David Woof wrote:
>I think it would be educational if one or several of our chemists and others
>devoted to the study of glaze formulations would publish comparative studies
>of the chemistry of the same ash, washed and unwashed.
>
>What do we lose when we wash? What elements are left behind?
You might want to take a look at Robert Tichane's book on "Ash Glazing"
(sorry, my copy's down at the studio...title might not be right). He's done
all that, although I've never found his lab research to be all that helpful
to me when I work with my own wood ash glazes. But it's an interesting read.
Richard Aerni
Rochester, NY
marvpots@juno.com on tue 27 sep 05
Read Phil Rogers book on "Ash Glazes"; that will shed some good light on your questions and answers as well!
Marvin Flowerman
Les on tue 27 sep 05
When Paul Davis was with us for a workshop he talked of "ash glazes" quite a
bit. He did not speak of washing them out completely. One of his ways is
to keep the water from the wetting of the ash in a separate container and
dip the wares in this water before a wood firing. He says that you can get
some real good effects.
Les Crimp in Nanoose Bay, B.C. (Vancouver Island)
lcrimp@shaw.ca
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Aerni"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 4:56 AM
Subject: Re: unwashed wood ash
> On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 19:16:01 -0500, David Woof
> wrote:
>
>>I think it would be educational if one or several of our chemists and
>>others
>>devoted to the study of glaze formulations would publish comparative
>>studies
>>of the chemistry of the same ash, washed and unwashed.
>>
>>What do we lose when we wash? What elements are left behind?
>
> You might want to take a look at Robert Tichane's book on "Ash Glazing"
> (sorry, my copy's down at the studio...title might not be right). He's
> done
> all that, although I've never found his lab research to be all that
> helpful
> to me when I work with my own wood ash glazes. But it's an interesting
> read.
> Richard Aerni
> Rochester, NY
>
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Lee Love on wed 28 sep 05
Check out Phil Roger's book on Ash glazes. He gives test examples of washed and unwashed ash. All depends upon what effect you want. But if you are doing traditional wet mixing, it is best to use thoroughly washed ash because the amount of solubles in the slip or slurry will effect how much water and ash you have in each ladle. When I mixed my first batches of my standard ash glaze, I didn't understand the importance of washing for this method and ended up with inconsistent tests.
You really can't depend upon standard tests or exact anyalisis with "natural" materials. Each batch of material can vary, so you have to test every time you get new ash.
--
Lee Love
in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://seisokuro.blogspot.com/ My Photo Logs
"We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us that they may see,
it may be, their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer,
perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our quiet."
-- W.B. Yeats
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