Iron Ochre
Biogenic iron ochre is a naturally occurring high build up of mainly very fine iron minerals along with earthly sediments such as clays and other minerals. Erin believes her Iron Ochre to be a mixture of Biogenic Ochre and Yellow Ochre as flecks of purple-red appear in the glaze which could be Manganese, traces of which is often found in Yellow Ochre. Iron Ochre is very distinct in nature from its bright orange appearance. Ochre was used in diverse ways by our Neolithic ancestors. An earth pigment with a long history of use with mankind.
Foraged from the Afon Corris which flows through the land and neighbouring fields, this magical aspect to the glaze produces the most beautiful flecks of red, yellows and browns. Iron ochre is a delight to work with as you never know where the flecks will appear and what pattern they will form - always a pleasure to open the kiln to truly unique ceramic pieces!
Natural Glaze
The glazes used within the 'From The Soil' collection develop their colour in the kiln through the use of foraged elements from nature. There are many more plants, trees and rocks on the land which Erin will experiment with to create more natural glazes in the future. Below is a brief outline about iron ochre and wild clay.
Wild clay
A true red Earthenware that is originally blue-grey when dug from the banks of the Corris and my Meadow.
This local clay is very silty which makes it a challenge to process by hand. Once the clay has dried, I begin by crushing the chunks of clay and de-stoning larger stones. After this I grind the wild clay in a pestle and mortar multiple times while passing the clay powder through a series of finer sieves each time. Although it is a lengthy and physically demanding process to make the clay usable, it is well worth the time as the colour of the clay is beautiful.
I keep the Meadow wild clay pots unglazed to emphasise the stunning colour of the land beneath our feet in Wales that develops in the kiln.
