Mary Roehm (b. 1951)

Note: image is too dark.

Katherine Tomlinson, “Recycling wood ash into a glaze,” Oxford Clay. https://www.oxfordclay.co.uk/blog-1/recycling-wood-ash-into-a-glaze

The ash from burnt wood and straw has been used to glaze pots for over 3500 years. It is thought that wood ash glazes originated in China when some ash from the wood-fired kiln accidentally fell onto pots and made a glaze when it melted in the high temperatures. Potters then began the practice of mixing wood ash, clay, and water to make a glaze.

Natural minerals and metals such as Iron and Magnesium in the wood ash give the glaze its colour. The ash from rice husks, for example, makes a glaze that is creamy white. In comparison, the ash produced from the leaves of the Cherry Laurel bush makes a purple glaze with brown speckles!

Wood ash glazing was practised extensively in China, Japan and Korea for many hundreds of years.