Is This Wild Clay Any Good? How To Test Samples
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- Опубліковано 26 бер 2024
- In which I test the clay samples I collected back in December to see which is best.
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Andy Ward PO Box 43601 Tucson, AZ 85733
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Andy, it's a real joy to dig, process, and fire. I leave my pots 70 hours in the kiln before opening after a firing. At that they are stone cold all the way through, cheers
Wow Andy! You have a lot of patience, 70 hours.
A kiln in the back yard makes this easier, with open firing I suppose a couple of hours is the maximum, especially on public land, cheers@@AncientPottery
Thanks, Andy. Now I'm inspired to go find the clay on my boss's land so I can make him some pottery with his own dirt. Thanks for your video work.
I got no clue about pottery and clay, but i really enjoy your videos. Very relaxing :D
Thank you very much!
Andy, the algorithm did me a solid and suggested your finding wild clay video about a month ago, and in that time, I've become admittedly obsessed with the process!
What started out as digging "mud pies" in the backyard with my daughter to now sourcing and refining clays and temper materials and getting lost down the ceramics rabbit hole has been more interesting than I could have imagined.
As a fellow Arizonian (Gilbert), I was all the more excited to recognize the geography and already had several areas that, based on your videos, had to have clay and boy did they!
My first foray to a spot that I knew looked promising did, in fact, have some good brown micaceous clay and was even able to find some old sherds in the area that, from inspection, were using this clay as a slip rather than the more gray and gritty body and it has me excited to be working the same source that indigenous people's were centuries ago!
Thabk you so much for sharing this invaluable information to the world and thank you for starting me down this ceramics journey!
I'll be heading up to rim country this weekend, originally to focus on finding antlers, but may have to bring a few buckets with me 😊
There is some good clay up there and very different from what you are finding in your area too.
Glad I could help, have fun.
Hi Andy, I think its good to add the date you made the pot to the number. So if you will collect more clay, it will not confuse you.
Once the experiment is done I don’t see why k should care what clay it is or when it was made any longer. I already got the information I was looking for.
Your videos are so informative and helpful. I am living in Colombia, South America and working with a ceramic artist whose village is literally built on top of a vein of yellowish clay. It fires to a dull orange color at 800-900 C in a wood fired kiln. He uses a horse to step on and break down the clay!
It's really interesting how different the clay colors were before firing, and how similar afterwards. Fascinating testing process!
That reminds me. I've collected a couple of clay samples that I haven't gotten around to testing yet. And now, I finally know how to spell dooblidoo!
Geez Dave you could have always looked it up in the dictionary.
Only clay I've tried is the one I find at my beach 5 minutes away (or in clumps in the garden but that usually has dirt & roots in it), it's all glacial deposit in south east Ireland. Very grey/brown looking & then put my little makes into the house fire overnight! Turns terracotta coloured, but I have no clue the temp. I made a little pot, 2 tiny bricks & attempts to make wax stamps!
Now Im really motivated to try the clay I used to play with as a child and process it correctly.
You should
@@AncientPottery Can we kiln using woods/stick?
😅 I had a friend visit from out of town, and I was such a show-off, taking her to where I normally get clay. Well, it had been raining a bit a few days before, and the clay was a little damp. I quickly dug it and filled up a 5 gallon bucket, showing off for my friend how I gather wild clay. I went to lift that 5-gallon bucket, and I nearly fell over. Wet clay, as it turns out, is extremely heavy. LOL my friend helped me carry the bucket back to the truck. I was quite embarrassed. Turned out to be some of the best clay I've gotten though. So I guess it was worth it.
Wow, yes, I have experienced that. Save your back, dig clay dry.
About number 6: You've probably got cristobalite in your clay.
It isn't normally a problem a problem when firing clay at lower temperature, as it forms from quarts at above 1100C, but it can occur naturally. It undergoes a phase change at about 200C that causes it to rapidly contract on cooling.
no.4 had a real nice pure tone on the sound test. that would make me think it has a very consistent texture and particle size to be able to resonate that clearly. not sure if that means anything important to you but i thought i would share.
Yes, some of the less usable clays fired very well.
@@AncientPottery Not that it's necessary, but have you tried blending the different clays?
Interesting video Andy! Wild how they almost all share the same hue when fired. Glad you found some good new clay! You can skip the gym this week, carrying two full buckets of clay out of the desert is no light weight task! 😅
Thanks Will, let's go wild clay hunting together some time.
@@AncientPottery Oh that would be a lot of fun!
I accidentally discovered grey and red clay mixed in my purchase of bank sand for the yard. I knew I wanted to play with it but didn't know where to begin. Then along came this video and others that very inspirational. Thank you for the wonderful information!
You are welcome
Great video! ...and i got some spiritual insights, too! "Working and building is great, but the real test is passing through the fire." 🤔
Thanks, clay as a metaphor for life.
Great video Andy! I’m also really enjoying your online classes!
Glad you like them!
That’s a great systematic technique to test wild clays.
Thanks Chad
Your patience and your passion for your craft never cease to amaze me! Thanks, Andy, for sharing this with us.
Many thanks!
If 6 is light as you say. You might want to check it for insulator properties. See how well it keeps heat on one side vs the other. It might not be what you are looking to use at present but stuff like that can have a lot of use.
Great video as always 👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Excellent guidance. One must take good notes for each sample in order to know where to get more if you want.
Thanks, I have not always been good at taking notes but I have at least learned from my mistakes.
As you noted, the briquettes resulted in a low temperature firing… change that one variable and number 6 may yet prove to be the best…. Who knows?
I like any clays to perform at low temps so that's actually a good thing.
OMG I just found promising, wild clay in my own backyard! I live a little over a mile away from the Connecticut River in Connecticut. The color is a lovely, dark brown and black.
I can't wait to start processing it like Andy is showing us, but I did the coil test and it holds awesomely. Maybe I won't have to add anything or much to it because this area has some sand in it too! Time will tell, as I keep learning
Awesome
I have a very strict rule. I never collect clay more than 1700 miles from home. Good video as always, thanks.
Ha ha. Sounds like a good rule, why collect clay on another continent anyway?
I found great joy digging clay 2,000 miles away. Same continent though
Love your channel, Andy - it inspired me to get my own corn grinder and fire some clay with my kids. That said, I do worry when I see you grinding indoors without a respirator. Especially when grinding sand Silicosis is a very real risk, and ‘potter’s lung’ is an all too common occurrence even among hobbyists. Maybe have a look into a dust mask when you’re grinding dry.
My studio is a back porch with great ventilation. I know it might not look like it on camera. The wall behind me is open at the top and bottom and there are screens all around letting in and out air.
Great video in so many ways! I'm going to watch this one twice. BTW, ever think of releasing a single based on pinging the bowls? Sounded pretty musical to me and they can do lots with synthesizers these days.
I'm sure what could be done, interesting....
Love seeing you experiment! I'm curious about one thing. When you test clay, do you ever put slip or paint on it? Does good paint always apply well to a good clay and therefore doesn't need to be tested?
I rarely have trouble with slip sticking to the pot wall, although rarely it does happen. But it is so rare that it is not something I test for.
Hi andy I though of another idea you might be interested in. You could boil the pot in nitrate water after its fired to oxidize it in a separate step! You could also just try to saok it for a while. Best of luck.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome!
Even though I may never ever go looking for clay, I learned something today and I enjoyed learning it. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I like your video. You are very authentic and generous in explaining things of what you know and your limitations. I am starting to appreciate pottery though i have not started it yet.
I appreciate that!
Great experiment 🎉
What a great video. Thanks for sharing the process and your experiences.
thanks for lovely vid
You're welcome 😊
Your videos are the most helpful! Thank you so much for sharing!
Where do you get that kind of thermometer?
Thank you for this video
My pleasure
Very good !
Thanks!
Thanks a lot!
yeah!!
I think the thing that surprised me most was the colour after they were fired. Some of the clays looked very light and one particularly dark and I expected a change in the ceramic that came out, I'm guessing it was organic colouring?
Great point about reversing what you've done while digging...I was going to ask about that
Thanks for sharing
Dooblidoo is such a cool word lol
Thanks, yes much of that color was organic matter that burned away
Really enjoying your video's. I'm just about to start experimenting with making traditional pots. Viking period to be exact. Just so happened that while digging a test hole in my back garden, for foundations ,i found clay. About a 3ft layer. What processing method would you recommend?
Hey, I've recently collected my first bit of clay and I had a question. When dry processing, is there anything you do to remove roots and other organic material before you grind? I live in a wooded climate and a lot of the clay I find I dense with roots. Love your videos btw!
Mix what you have left of the other clays and make something. It will probably be nice clay with them mixed, as they're making up what others lack and balance out. Lol
If i recall some of the potters in Mata Ortiz used/mixed 2 or 3 clays from different areas.
bro, and this happened to me on accident, but get a cheese cloth, put the clay inside and hang it up... in front of a fan works best, but anywhere, they dry right up
Hi Andy, the algorithm showed me your channel recently and I've been captivated. I'm in Tucson as well and was inspired to go visit the Willcox playa. I've attempted to dry process some clay from the playa but even after adding temper it seems extremely sticky and hard to work. Is this clay just too good to be true as far as ease to find and workability?
It needs a lot of temper to reduce the stickiness, also it will need to have the salt washed out.
Hello Andy! I have a question not related to the topic of the video, what should I do if the clay sits in a bucket for a long time? Maybe something needs to be added? It’s just that the whole day has already passed, and there isn’t even half an inch of clean water in the bucket.
I almost feel like I am steeling because of the knowledge that I am gaining. I watch each video, go out and make mistakes, then watch the video again and see where I neglected some of the information. I have broken a lot of things. I am finally getting more confident in my firings and clay bodies. I’m not breaking, but I seem to be under firing. At this rate, I should be good to go in a few months 🤣. I have three different colors of clay on our generational land. The whole family is patiently waiting for me to get it right so I can provide real dishes. We really love our land and this is a way that they can all have a piece of home around the world. My Marine son actually requested dirt from home while on deployment. This will be a way that I can legally provide our dirt.
Nice experiment! I wonder if one of those clays hard to build with may actually not require added temper for firing correctly. Perhaps those clays had different amounts of organic matter which coloured them, but once burnt away they became uniform. The lighter clay may have had a lot of organic matter, but this you may see perhaps in the section if it has small holes.
Yes, that is for sure that some of these ended up with too much temper.
Excellent, thank you for sharing your knowledge. Is organic material in the clays ever an issue, or do they get screened out enough to not be?
Are you familiar with Japanese Bizenware? It sounds like it's as crappy a clay to work and fire as you can imagine but it was the only thing available for that region of Japan 300 years ago. It's so bad from shrinkage and texture that it has to be fired at cone 11+ in a wood burning kiln in order to get a natural ash glaze from the firing process, and they make some beautiful world class pottery from it. A couple of those clays you have here reminded me of it.
Gotta get me one of them corn grinders now....
Great video Andy, I need to do this here in Florida. Clay deposits are hard to find here, I've got a couple spots, but between alligators, water moccasins, and rattlesnake it can be dangerous. Not to mention wild hogs, all I need is to throw a sasquatch or skunk ape to the mix and I might not survive.🤣🤣🤣
Man sounds like some real adventure to get clay there. Have fun but be safe.
So I grow springtail cultures and one of the best media to grow them on is calcium bearing clay (typically a redish bentonite clay). Do you have any tips on finding it?
No idea. Sorry
Does that clay you chose as the winner work anything like the FenceLake clay Thornburgs used?
I have only ever used the fence lake clay as a slip. So it’s pretty hard to compare them. As far as I know the Thornburgs also only used it as a slip too.
What is your opinion on sand vs grog vs diatomaceous earth for the temper? Thanks!
They all work. Sand can have rounded edges but you can grind it to sharpen it a little.
You can dig in your back yard and get perfectly good clay , make a clay pit 4 to 6 ft deeper than the surface and youll be in ultra pure super high quality clay that smells just like store baught clay youd get in the school section and you dont uave to go anywhere for it you can just pile it up next to the pit you dig the clay from! Thats what i did at 17 and now its a full on mine shaft at 24 and i found out my property is ontop of an ancient virgen river bed with gold and topaz deposits never touched by anyone else and i wouldve never known if it wasnt for me digging for clay
If you wanted to figure out exactly how much temper was best for each of those samples, how would you go about it? Is there a way to determine how "pure" they are without first wet processing them? If you purified each of them down to nearly 100% clay with no impurities, would you expect them to each take the same amount of temper to be perfect, or will that always vary? Thanks for the great video!
The amount would always vary from clay to clay. You could be super precise about it, but I’m not like that, I just want to find an amount that works for the way I use clay. This way is low effort compared with levigating all the clay to find out how much temper is naturally in it and then determining the exact amount of temper to add. That way would take weeks to get results.
Do you think you could make a video trying salt glazing? I just found out about it and it seems really cool
Not really my thing. I am sure it has been covered by some other UA-camrs
@@AncientPottery no problem! I saw that you did a few videos trying ‘glazes’ and thought you might like it, never mind though :)
Can you show us how to make a Tiki Mug?
very interesting. I wonder if the 20% clay contributed to the similarity in color? It woudl be interesting to experiment with adding slightly less or more to make a better builder or to combine different clays based on their properties to balance each other out. And that one that broke-- since you had such high hopes for it, I would give it another try or 2. anything can happen... that chip could be a one off
To quite Davey Crockett "Be always sure you are right - then go ahead". I am moving forward with my selected clay and not looking back.
Andy, is it possible to use animal fats to seal pottery? I have some homemade pottery and some bacon grease and I was curious if it would be possible to
yes
What about mixing to difference deposit to get a better ceramic, have you tried that?
Yes I often do that. Once I know which clays have good properties then I can later decide what might make a good combination.
Andy who makes these great shirts you are wearing??
There are a few shirts in this video. Cabela's, Flag & Anthem and Wrangler. Thanks
Would you use any of the "not winning" clays for temper since you fired them.... also for #6 could it been caused by the temp?
It is unlikely that the problems of #6 were caused by low temperatures. And yes, I will grind those bowls into grog eventually.
can you make a video about how you clean earthenware mugs and bowls? they seem fun to try to make but impractical to use because you can't use soap to clean them. is there a convenient way to clean them or do you just use them on occasion?
I use soap to clean mine.
@@AncientPottery does the soap get stuck in the pores?
Andy, have you ever tried to use salt to seal a pot?
no
I would love to dig up some clay, but i am not able to at this time. Is there a clay I can buy that will work with the open flame firing?
Yes, check out this video ua-cam.com/video/n1zwTqlu4GI/v-deo.html
@@AncientPottery thank you so much!!!!!!!!
Maybe there was organic material in the #6 clay that burned off?
Sir, is it possible to buy your earthenware products?
on my website at ancientpottery.how
👍
would mixing 4 and 6 possibly be good
It would likely result in a clay that is worse than 4 and better than 6. I think I will just stay with 4.
Hello sir can l use only clay without sand and if i use only clay without sand what happend
broken pots
With the first clay I have ever used for pottery I had similar results to sample 6 after firing. I have no idea what caused it
There is something weird with 6, I wish I knew what it was. I may do another experiment, I still have a little of it.
I actually think it might have been silt because I remember taking a bit of silt that I assumed was clay with me that time
I live in lake havasu and I don’t know where to go for clay, does anybody have spots?
Get out there and do some exploring. Do it now before it gets hot.
Four and five sound clear. What does that reveal?
They fired harder
6 sounds over fired... maybe it doesnt need as much heat?
What's the legality of collecting wild clay? And what are your personal etiquettes about it?
If you're in a national forest in the US (not a national park) you can collect minerals including clay for personal use. It's also allowed to collect clay that is exposed on road cuts. When it comes to private property, you can ask the owner for permission. Most people don't care if you take a bit of dirt, and are generally pretty friendly about it
It depends on the land ownership. Kind of a hard question to answer in a comment because it is complicated. Check out this video for more about that ua-cam.com/video/EB55tMhH2EE/v-deo.htmlsi=rTSaZACfBut9EA2y
I know it's not really your thing, but would the clays you tested here have behaved differently if they were fired to a higher temperature? E.g. cone 6 or 10, whether electric or gas?
Sure they would have. And if I was looking for a clay to fire in an electric kiln I would certainly have tested them much differently. Mostly you would want to know at what temperature they will melt so you can avoid that.
Would you mix clays? 4+5 say..I thought 5 had a slightly better ding but I was an artillery man...
You are correct, some of the less usable clays fired harder as you can tell by the sound. And if that was something that was important to you, you might try levigating all of the impurities out of it and seeing if you could improve the working quality. But so far I am fairly happy with the clay I got.
@@AncientPottery it is a pleasure to watch you make the incredible art that you create. In the Appalachians we have a grey yellow clay I dig out of the creek. It fires red mostly. I make slingshot balls mostly. They go poof when they hit lol.
Leave it natural. Thank you.
Clay
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👍