Ash Glazes [Paperback]

Robert Tichane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1998

With recipes for nearly 40 ash glazes, and instructions for making synthetic ash glazes, this manual is a reference for potters aiming to achieve success with these variable glazes. Glaze tests ilustrate the effect of different materials and circumstances in the firing process.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These two books are good sources of ideas for studio potters. Coakes presents a diverse collection of projects with glaze recipes and tips on technique from 19 potters. Many excellent photographs of additional pieces showcase the artists' work. Tichane has recipes and technical information for the ancient process of glazing with wood ash, which produces an earthy, mottled appearance favored by Asian potters. Tichane has researched the available information on ash glazes and brought it up-to-date for modern potters. This revised edition of a 1987 book has been expanded with an additional section of color photographs. Both books are suitable for crafts collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Krause Publications; Revised edition (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873416600
• ISBN-13: 978-0873416603
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Glazes from trees and vegetables, April 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ash Glazes (Paperback)

Robert Tichane shows you the wonderful and unpredictable effects of ash glazes made from various plants. He gives extensive detail on the chemical composition of ashes achieved by using different parts of trees (from root to leaves) and from using leaves of different plants (ranging from beech, oak to vegetables like cabbages and lettuce). This book is suited for a more experienced potter with some knowledge of chemistry and much patience. Still, I found it very inspiring despite not understanding some of his more detailed discussions.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, June 12, 2006

By 

Timothy J. Joko-Veltman "Tim" (Brasilia, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ash Glazes (Paperback)

I am fairly new to glaze development, though I have read Hopper's "The Ceramic Spectrum", so I ordered this hoping to expand on what I learned from that book. I was quite excited when I recieved it, but quickly began to feel rather disappointed.

Here's a few reasons why: the first thing that bothered me about this book is that it only has a few colour photos - the rest are black and white, and of only medium quality. Secondy, I was also a little irritated when I discovered that the author seems to have very definite opinions about how ash should be used in glazes, and seems to resist usages that don't fit well within his scheme of things. Thirdly, much of the text covers the nominal compositions of various different ashes, and all the while, the author is saying things that basically amount to "You can't ever really tell what's in a specific ash sample without testing it." Finally, most of the photos seem to be of work by a single artist (perhaps the way the author thinks ash glazes *should* look?) ... it would be nice to see a wider variety of work, especially considering the long history of ash as both accidental and intentional glazes and glaze components.

All in all, I would not recommend this book for those who are interested in using ash glazes. To them, I would recommend Robin Hopper's "The Ceramic Spectrum", and say "Try it and see".