Burning seaweed for glaze

People ask where the green comes from, and the honest answer is the beach. I glaze with ash from local seaweed, and this is how that works.

Gathering

I walk the strand line after a big tide and pick up what has been thrown up. Kelp mostly, some wrack. I only take what is already loose, never anything still growing on the rocks. A bin bag is plenty for a season.

Drying and burning

The weed dries on a rack for a week or two until it is brittle. Then I burn it right down to a pale ash. It smells of the harbour and takes patience, because wet weed just smoulders and sulks.

Into the glaze

I sieve the ash fine and weigh it into the glaze with the other materials. Seaweed carries a lot of minerals, and those are what push the colour towards sea green and grey.

The part I love is that every batch is a little different. Summer weed and winter weed do not fire the same. So the glaze is never quite fixed, and neither are the pots.