Processing clay from wild or raw dirt requires digging a hole in the ground and getting the first of many loads of clay-bearing earth to process.
I was fortunate that I had friends that were willing to let me dig a hole in their yard to get the raw materials.
The reason I was allowed to dig the hole was so that the owners could plant a tree.
I found that the material layer under the topsoil was good, clay-bearing earth. When we began digging, the material was very dense packed with little residual water making the digging difficult; which is a good sign for someone looking to get clay from earth.
Although the images shows six buckets, I did end up with seven buckets of material to process.
In a conversation with the owners, we got into a discussion about the ground and how much clay there was under the grass. When I looked at the area around their property, I found that it was a small natural lake in an area that was created by glacial activity.
Working with Clay 