Ash Glazes and Colored Clays
Ash Glazes
Jeff
began experimenting with ash glazes many years ago,
partly in reaction to the suggestion of browsers that Sally
should be drawing grapes all over the pots. That has been done!
But grapevine ash, that which remains after cane is burned following
the
harvest, offers an abundant local resource. Jeff collects it just after
it has cooled, then leaches out the impurities and mixes it with
feldspar, clay and water. The subtle variations in our ash glazes
reflect differences in
the soil the vines have grown in, the ash itself being the only
variable in the glaze formula.Sally inlays the ash glaze into our iron-saturate glaze, making geometric designs or looser bands of decoration to take advantage of the interaction between the two glazes. The most enduring of the geometric designs is the honeycomb pattern, which appeared on the cover of Napa Style's first Fall catalog.
Blue and Green Clay
Another ongoing experiment involves coloring white
stoneware with o
xides of cobalt and/or copper to yield subtle blues and
greens with a transparent glaze. The results are often a surprise to us
and we do not take orders for these pieces.