Potters Round Table: Ash Glazes

[@BlackDidThis]

Everything... Even your dictation: Made everything so clear... thank you so much for the information so well put together and presented

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Thank you for the encouragement. Phil was a great teacher. He passed away last year and I am so thankful we have captured his legacy in these videos! I hope you enjoy all the content.

[@BlackDidThis]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios OUCH!!!! Oh I am so sorry.. for so many reasons. I would argue that it is one way to achieve a sort of immortality when what it is you have learned to effectively pass on-wards to others. As such we stand on the shoulders of giants helping us reach higher and see farther. Giants as Mr. Phil here. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. I have already had grown a liking to the sympathetic individual I watched here from miles afar. I can not imagine the effects it may have had to those closer. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing these videos with us.

[@grandcarriage1]

Excellent presentation, as always. I'm so glad you made these with Phil. What a treasure.

[@sev9227]

Thank you for the video, finally someone whos specking on my langue , clear info right on point!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

SE v, We are so happy you find the videos valuable! Please share the channel with your friends and fellow potters to help us grow our community!

[@pooiabeik3042]

A perfect video lesson on ash glazes! Thank you so much for the neat and informative handout as well~ 😊

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Pooia, you are always so kind! We are happy you find it useful.

[@susanpalmer4856]

So much information presented in such a clear manner! Thank you!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Susan, thank you for the encouragement, please share the channel with your friends and fellow potters to help us grow our community!

[@mosseyw]

Great lecture with clear information, thank you 😊

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

mosseyw, Thanks, good to hear from you again!

[@darrah3854]

Thank you. You are a valuable resource.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Thank you for watching, I hope you enjoy all the videos. And please share the channel with your friends and fellow potters to help us grow our community.

[@tylerfry3930]

Thank you, that technique for developing your glaze was really helpful

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Tyler, We are happy you found the video useful, please share our channel with your friends and fellow potters!

[@annaponomareva5749]

Just as usual, super useful and informative video! Thank you!!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Thank you Anna for your continued encouragement and keep watching!

[@liquidateddamages6220]

Great video as always! These videos have been invaluable in my self-education on ceramics.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Thank you Liquidated Damages, Please share the channel with your friends and fellow potters to help us grow our community!

[@lunadefara]

What a great lesson this is ! Thank you so so much ..

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Herman, you are welcome, please share our channel with your friends and fellow potters to help us grow our community!

[@lunadefara]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios of course, I’ll do that !

[@joseeugeniofariaalvim9974]

I learned very much today with this video. You have got an avid learner here in Brazil. Thank you very much.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

That's great Jose, please share the channel with your friends and fellow potters! And thanks for dropping in from Brazil!

[@ozzig.2667]

Thank you for the infomation! This is really helpfull, Hugs from Chile!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Ozzi G., Thanks for the encouragement and for making us more international! Please share the channel with your friends and fellow potters to help us grow our ceramics community. Thanks for watching!

[@ozzig.2667]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios hello I sent you an email for a question about some glazes, hugs!

[@Sjahsam]

Thank you

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

You are welcome and I hope you enjoy all the videos!

[@CreekRoadPotteryLLC]

Hey this was real helpful! I have a wood stove and ash trees are dying in my area due to a beetle infestation. I have a large pail sifted ash and always wanted to swap it out with the Gerstley Borate. I will run some tests and let you know. I fire cone 5/6 gas up draft so it may work out great! This class was like drinking a cold cup of water on a hot day! Thanks for all you do!

[@sorce2175]

Bonus points for invasive beetle ash glaze!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Please do keep us posted! Pics would be great and maybe we'll feature your pics in a future video!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Hey Sorce, did you send us a tea pot?

[@sorce2175]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios Oh yes! Just sent you an Email!

[@fntkm97]

many many thanks

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

You are most welcome

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

You are most welcome

[@Bmilroy080688]

also. wood ash can be used to make mortar, works lovely in your lungs. that was sarcasm, dont breath it in.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Thanks for watching, and please think safety first! Care should be taken with all materials in the ceramics community.

[@davidsobel3303]

Great video. I kinda wish you hade some example of the mixes you described to illustrate the effect of the ash in formulations.

[@spitrock33]

Very good teacher, thank you

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

You are welcome!

[@gerardahern2153]

Thank you for getting to the meat of my problem.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Gerard, Glad we could help!

[@bmeerfeld]

Good stuff. Good channel. Thanks!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Thanks for watching!

[@bandwilkalviwilk8437]

This man's amazing!!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Thanks Bandwilk, please share the channel with your friends and fellow potters to help us grow our community!

[@emblemcc]

Enjoying this lecture for nth time ;)

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

jan twentyfortysix, This was a very informative lecture, and too much to retain after a single viewing!

[@xm3364]

Thank you very much for the in-depth knowledge on Ash glaze making. Sorry to ask which Feldspar ( potash or Sodium) was referred in these examples? I am a beginner. Thank you.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

The most common is potash feldspar, and either potash or sodium can be used. They do produce different results, with Custer feldspar (potash) being our normal choice.

[@noisecode5867]

What!? You guys are in Harpers Ferry!? Wish I had known that When I was living in Shepherdstown LOL!! Love these videos. College level stuff. Keep it up and thanks so much!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Thanks and sorry to have missed you. If you are ever in the area, give us a call and visit!

[@gojec29]

VDO absolutely interesting and very well explained ... Sorry for my bad English but it isn't my mother langage ....

[@danieltarcak]

I´ve a question regarding lye, the one from washing ash, can you use it and spray it on greenware, bisqware to get a glossy finish on unglazed ceramics? fire in electric to cones 6 to 10. thank you for the answer.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Daniel, I have forwarded your question to Phil and I will post his response when I receive it. Thank you for the comment.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Hi Daniel, Thanks for your question, a good question! I tried a small experiment once with vapor glazing using lye (concentrated sodium hydroxide pellets sitting right on the clay surface), but it wasn't very successful; no glaze was produced. I don't have a good answer; I'm speculating here because I'm not familiar with the all the properties of lye. Theoretically, it could work since the ash "lye" could contain sodium and potassium hydroxide (and other sodium and potassium compounds), and therefore could provide sodium and potassium oxide fluxes, but I'm skeptical. I think that a problem might be having and keeping enough lye on the surface of the pots at high temperature to react with the clay and form a glaze. Both hydroxides melt at very low temperatures ( 600 - 700 F) and could therefore soak into the clay (or run off the surface?). I'm not sure if the hydroxides might also start to vaporize (evaporate) before they could react with the clay. But, when in doubt, try it! Phil

[@danieltarcak]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios, thank you for your answer. I will definitely try it.

[@CallUsTemily]

Big fan! I have never desired a wood ash glaze but this got me thinking 🤔 I have been having problems with a clear glaze from my local store crawling- but only over underglaze. Could it be that the raw underglaze adds enough calcium to affect the surface tension of the clear and cause the crawling?? And if so, what would I add to test a work around when I don’t know the composition of the original ...Gerstly Borate? You have taught me so much! I could never repay. Thank you thank you thank you!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

I will forward your question to Phil, the expert. Do you have or can you get the full recipe? Without knowing the full recipe, it is difficult to know what adjustments need to be made. You can take a small sample and do some glaze testing though, see this video for some ideas on making test blends kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJLRpYl7n8t_o7s

[@CallUsTemily]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios Thanks. I could not get the recipe per se but I was told it is minspar, and gerstly borate in pretty equal amounts around 40% and silica for most of the rest of the 100% it does have a tiny amount of calcium and a tiny amount of epk, some other add ins. I know I will have to do small batch testing, I am open to that. I would like to get a starting place really. Knowing that it already has a lot of Gerstly helps; that’s probably not where I need to start! Lol. But I had never thought about surface tension as a glaze factor.

[@aaronlu5814]

Thank you for making in-depth videos like this explaining ash glazes. I made some ash glaze mixing tea leaves ash and transparent glaze. When I applied the glaze it was black, but after it was fired at 1200c it resulted in an almost transparent glaze with a little bit of green. I am wondering if it is the leaves problem or something else?

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Aaron Lu, Thanks for the good question! At high temperatures the color from organic materials burns out significantly. You need the stronger colorants provided by minerals like cobalt carbonate, red iron oxide, chromium, and copper carbonate to name a few. All ashes that I know of will not provide much color, like the green you experienced, but they do provide a flux with high surface tension that causes the rivelets. If you want the color, search for recipes that use the stronger mineral colorants. Regards, Dennis

[@aaronlu5814]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios Thank you for replying and sharing your knowledge.This is very helpful!

[@pizzatopia]

love your work! And i have a question: can i mix rust (iron oxide), with wood ash glaze, say a 50/50 ratio of woodash to clay, and add another 10% or so of rust to the mix? What would the results likely be firing at about 1200 degrees Celcius?

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

You should check on glazey.org to see what you can do. Ash is a flux and iron oxide is a flux/stain. You need to add a stabilizer and a glass former to make a glaze. Phil couild have provided a better answer but he passed away last July. Good luck and keep watching!

[@donaldhodgin9269]

Please increase the volume. Would love to be able to hear everything.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

I will try. Unfortunately we had a bad cable and the audio didn't work very well. And even more unfortunately Phil passed away before we got a chance to re-record the discussion. I'll see what I can do.

[@donaldhodgin9269]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios so sorry to hear about Phil's passing. Life goes by so quickly. 😔

[@faddarootz]

@ 23:15 the ash, clay. & feldspar mix totals 110 parts

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Yes, it does. This recipe was created as parts rather than percentages. We decided not to change the recipe since it was not created by us. You can, of course, change the parts to percentages by dividing the amount of each ingredient by 110.

[@silverfeathered1]

Very cool and informative! even though I've never taken up the skill, I found this enjoyable to watch. While watching, it crossed my mind that the chemistry and compositions varied widely but the constant was that water was used. It's there a reason the water soluble components need to be introduced to water? Couldn't something like mineral oil be used instead?

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

That is a good question. The main reason to use water is cost and availability. Most of the material content of oils and water itself are burnt off in the firing. Only if there are elements that don’t burn off at high temperatures would the base liquid matter. Thanks for asking.

[@silverfeathered1]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios Ah, I see! Thank you 👍

[@kevinh5024]

Great video. Few questions: Q1-On the triax blend tests, I’m not sure how different number of “points” works on the 3 axis. You show 2 / 2 / 3 Intermediate points. I think might be easier if all the same? Or maybe ygive example of blend percentages in example you sketched. Q2-Any thoughts on using volcanic ash? Appreciate the videos!

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Kevin, I've forwarded the questions to Phil and will post his response. Thanks for the comment.

[@kevinh5024]

After thinking about, I’m thinking you might be able to have 5 points (a halfway point) so nodes could line up better. I just don’t know how 3 points would work. I need to think about more. This is a good mental exercise.

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Hi Kevin, Thanks for your comments and your questions. In our next, upcoming Potters' Round Table presentation in March, we will be discussing triaxial (and quadraxial) blends in more detail. Volcanic ash (pumice) can definitely be used as a glaze ingredient; it has a composition somewhat similar to Cornwall stone. Here's an example of a nice cone 6 base glaze recipe that can be used with a lot of different colorants: volcanic ash 58.3% EPK 9.3 Gerstley borate 32.4 + bentonite 2%. Phil

[@michirhythm]

This is very informative! I am curious to know if this lye water can ne used to actually make soaps? This would be a great excuse to start a new hobby. :)

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Michele, that's a good question, but we have no experience making soaps, Phil just knows some of the science behind it!

[@jackiegrant410]

Yes it can and if you type in ash to make soaps, you’ll find some good tips.

[@felicitycrowe6971]

Yep! Lye water from wood ash and animal fat were likely the ingredients for the first soaps ever made, I think (I could be wrong - I’m no soap making expert but I have done some investigating previously )

[@saidsahra15]

Can i glaze earthware clay with ash glaze

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Yes, you need to find a glaze recipe for earthenware temperatures. I suggest looking on glazey.org.

[@dubemobi6740]

Can one use propane torch as a kiln burner?

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

Dubem obi, the answer depends on the kiln design and the BTUs produced by the torch. A small handheld torch will not provide enough BTUs for even a very small kiln. Here is a video from Simon Leach, who converted an electric kiln to gas using weed burners (kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXnYYnVqoK93gas) and he gets some really good results.

[@sandgrains3418]

Why isn't there a translation inside the video? Only the title of the video is translated

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

The translation services are provided by KZbin, not by the channel. I am not capable of providing translations and I have no control of the process, sorry.

[@sandgrains3418]

@@WashingtonStreetStudios Thank you for the answer, I wish you success, my greetings 🌹

[@rosiehodges2547]

Has anyone ever made an ash glaze with cremation materials?

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

I have no experience with this, but I have heard of a lot of people doing it. If you google search it you can find some examples and recipes.

[@TribalGlobe]

We gotsta hate them fake ash glazes!

[@Alakwe]

Most things melt at 1300 so what, the difference between different ashes is mostly indistinguishable

[@WashingtonStreetStudios]

OK, not sure I understand the comment.