On-Line Sales
 Gallery

Christine Homer Weaving

Pilgrim Jug
Flashed with Ash

  10" H  x  6" D

 Item: OLS-WF-2

$ 130

How to Order
Shipping Code D

Wood Ash & Flashing

When wood firing, the pots literally sit in a river of flames.  Wood ash, carried by the flames, has a profound effect on a pot’s surface.

On unglazed pottery, fly ash accumulation can produce a natural but rustic glaze.  The flames may also impart a blush of toasty color known as “flashing”.

Pottery that has been covered with a glaze prior to firing is enriched by the sodium which is a component of wood ash.  Fly ash may leave a freckled pattern on the surface of any glazed pot.

Wood firing effects are unpredictable.  Fly ash may settle on the shoulder and rims of pots.  At the end of a firing, fast flowing flames can make patterns by depositing ash on the vertical sides of pots.

Wad Marks

Sodium ( salt glazing), and fly ash ( wood firing), create glaze on the pots, and on kiln shelves where the pots sit.. Wadding prevents pots, in a wood firing and salt glazing, from fusing to the kiln shelves. 
 The size, shape and materials used for wadding,
are important aesthetic considerations for the potter.  In addition to preventing pots from fusing to shelves, wadding acts as a color resist and leaves flame flashing patterns.