Illustrated is yet another
experiment using ash, this time over a rich, iron and talc glaze. The bowl was
thrown off the hump with the undulating lip and rib marks added as casually as
I was able and once bisque, the piece was glazed and fired and then cooled as
slowly as was possible. The ash itself is a mixture of medium and soft wood
ashes together with a tiny addition of rutile to enhance the color and this may
have also helped contribute to the flow of the glaze as it melted. Though
evenly dipped in the ash glaze, I was very surprised by the pattern that
emerged as the glaze melted and ran. Though I harbor a natural pessimism when
it comes to one off tests being reproducible, I will keep my fingers crossed
and try this combo on a slightly larger piece next glaze firing. I know I have
said this before, but I am just constantly amazed at the nearly infinite number
of variations you can achieve with only a hand full of materials. This is most
likely that moment a teachers told you about years ago as to why you would need
chemistry, but you slept through class anyway.
"You can not teach a man
anything; you can only help him find it within himself." Galileo Galilei
(1564-1642)
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