Wild Clay – Working with Clay

Firing pots in a Pit

View of one of the finished pots. Color is very near to that of a pot made from commercially available clay that was fired at the same time. I have used this pot to hold water while working on other pieces of pottery.

Making some pots

Here I am making a pot using a rib made from a piece of wood from the pile of wood for the camp fire. I formed the basic pot using the pinch method. I started with a small ball of clay; about the size of a tennis ball. Using my thumb, I made the initialContinue reading “Making some pots”

Working dirt to clay

After digging and drying the clay, one needs to decide which method to use to make the clay. Method one: levigating (slaking with water to separate large particles from smaller). Using a large volume of water and agitation to separate out the heavier particulate (sand, small stones) from the lighter clay particle and light organicContinue reading “Working dirt to clay”

Digging dirt

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 allowedContinue reading “Digging dirt”