Ash Glaze - Making The Ash

Making The Ash

To create the ash, the wood needs to burn completely in a kiln. Wood-ash is around 1% the mass of the original wood; therefore, a lot of wood is necessary to produce the ash. The ash is then put through a sieve to eliminate the excess clumps from the ash. At this point artists can process the ash further to create a more uniform mixture or leave it unprocessed so there are more random final results. To process the ash, water is first added to the mixture and left to settle for a couple hours. The solution is drained and dried and the result is ash containing less harmful chemicals like some soluble alkalis.