Spraying ash glazes

[June Kinsinger]

Group,  I just unloaded the kiln with a few more pots using ash glazes.  Cone 6 purchased glazes.  Sprayed with atomizer (by mouth).  They came out ugly except for one, it is ok but not the usual runs that the sample showed in the store.  I have read where it needs to be thick, not over another glaze, thin, everything.  Which is the correct thickness and does it actually have to be directly on a bisque piece, not over another glaze?

Thanks in advance for your help, I really like these glazes but having difficulty with them.

June

[George Lewter]

June, Please post 2-3 pictures with the range of your results.  

I think mouth sprayers tend to cause people to lay down a thinner coat than what may be needed -- because of all the huffing and puffing. 

I get rivulets with the Hannah's fake ash glazes by putting them on quite thick alone and then tapering off the thickness as they begin to lap over another glaze. On these mugs I sprayed the top half with Hannah's Fake Ash onto the unglazed clay body. I sprayed the bottom half with Variegated Slate Blue layered on top of Richard Busch Nutmeg.

If you notice about 1/3 of the way down where the the glazes start to intermix, the networks in the rivulets start losing complexity to become simple vertical runs. 

Some of our members use the ash/fake ash glazes as modifiers over other glazes and de-emphasize the rivulets, seeking more to get more variation in an underlying glaze.

Jan Wallace's teapot, below, is an example of using an ash/fake ash glaze more subtly, than what I did above. She sprayed a Hannahs Fake Ash lightly over Floating Red for a marvelously atmospheric pot that few people would guess to be electric oxidation fired.

[June Kinsinger]

George,  Thanks for the info.  I did apply the glaze on bisque WITH NO UNDER GLAZE.  i MADE IT FAIRLY HEAVY AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS TOO HEAVY.  DO I JUST NEED TO KEEP PRACTICING?

JUNE

[George Lewter]

I think the next step is to let members know what glaze (brand and specification) you are using, and see if others are getting it to work well, or if it just isn't that good a glaze. It may not be your fault at all. I bought some Amaco ash glaze a couple of years ago and they said on the label not to spray it.  If I remember correctly, I dipped a test tile, and after firing I didn't like the finished glaze at all.

[Jeff Poulter]

I bought & used some Amaco ash glazes as well.  I ended up spraying mine & although they did the characteristic rivulets & strings, they bubbled alot & I ended up refiring all of them with another glaze over them to get rid of the bubbles.  It definitely diluted the ash effect, but it got rid of all the bubbles.