Wood ash from my wood burner…

I left home this morning with a bag full of ash from my wood burner with the aim of using it as my first natural glaze. After my pottery class have dispersed, I excitedly get out my bag of wood ash (mostly pine), I rinse it and then start pushing it through a normal kitchen sieve and then a very fine mesh sieve to get rid of the bits of charcoal and other debris. I paint the refined wood ash onto my (straight out of the kiln and still warm) test bowls. I’m using a stoneware clay to test on as I’m going to fire at 1245oC (which is the temperature I fire my pottery class work to and so is convenient). The ash paints on a bit like an oxide, not at all like the wood ash glaze that I buy in a pot from Bath Potters! Glaze experiments are always exciting – I have absolutely no idea what to expect…