Why keep the 'stratta' together (aligned) during the process? I do basically the same thing as you are doing but I try and alternate/jumble everthing constantly to make sure water is distributed evenly. I also follow up slam wedge with spiral as the finish.
Because it multiples you efforts. The first time you have 2 layers, then 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc...a few passes and you end up over 1000. It ends up plenty smooth, and make it possible to do the main goal of wedging in general: get the air out!
I think keeping them going in the same direction just let's you get throughly mixed faster. Molly's answer below is more articulate than mine but I do find that it gets mixed together and de-aired way faster than any other way i have found. I love that I can mix sevearl different consistencies of clay and come out with one homogenous lump. I love it. -mj
I have a few questions. 1. What does it mean if I wedge my clay (I cut it to make sure there’s no bubbles) but when I start my piece (hand-built), I start seeing bubbles when I start carving. Or even when I sponge it to make it smooth, it doesn’t get smooth... it feels a little bit rocky..?? 2. The clay that I bought seems to have tiny little clothing hairs, there’s too much hair for me to manually stick them out. They are almost invisible, until I carve or cut the clay. Can that form little air bubbles ?? Or can I work with that??
Hi Paloma. I'm glad you're diving into clay! 1. to wedge clay is like "kneading" dough in cooking. it get's all the air bubbles out. At the most basic level this is squeezing the air bubbles out but there are lots of ways to do it. If your'e seeing bubbles when you carve, you may run into problems when you fire your piece. When you have air bubbles in a piece and you bisque fire (the first fire that makes it hard) too quickly the piece can explode. It happens to me every once in a while even still. Also, if you're piece is too thick you run the risk of it exploding in the kiln. The rocky stuff you're feeling may be what's called GROG. Grog is little pieces of fired clay we mix into throwing clay sometimes to help give it more body - help it stand up easier on the wheel. It would feel like little pieces of sand in the otherwise smooth clay. 2. I can see how that would be hard to get all those little hairs or fibers out. When I stack and slam wedge i often have a little clump of fibers on the wire at the end of my stacking and slamming. I haven't noticed it being a problem in the fire but it might be depending on how much you have in there. Making sure youre piece is all the way dry and also bisque firing really slowly will reduce the risk of explosion in the kiln. I hope that helps Paloma. let me know if you have other quetions! Way to go jumping into this clay journey!
This is amazing! Thank you so much for the super clear instructions!
Thank you for the demo and the commentary!
You bet Tina! Thanks for watching and contributing.
Hoping this helps me! I have strong arm strength, but weaker wrists, so lots of wedging gets my wrists aching.
Do you have a tutorial for making your triangle wire tool?
Why keep the 'stratta' together (aligned) during the process? I do basically the same thing as you are doing but I try and alternate/jumble everthing constantly to make sure water is distributed evenly. I also follow up slam wedge with spiral as the finish.
Because it multiples you efforts. The first time you have 2 layers, then 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc...a few passes and you end up over 1000. It ends up plenty smooth, and make it possible to do the main goal of wedging in general: get the air out!
I think keeping them going in the same direction just let's you get throughly mixed faster. Molly's answer below is more articulate than mine but I do find that it gets mixed together and de-aired way faster than any other way i have found. I love that I can mix sevearl different consistencies of clay and come out with one homogenous lump. I love it. -mj
I have a few questions.
1. What does it mean if I wedge my clay (I cut it to make sure there’s no bubbles) but when I start my piece (hand-built), I start seeing bubbles when I start carving. Or even when I sponge it to make it smooth, it doesn’t get smooth... it feels a little bit rocky..??
2. The clay that I bought seems to have tiny little clothing hairs, there’s too much hair for me to manually stick them out. They are almost invisible, until I carve or cut the clay. Can that form little air bubbles ?? Or can I work with that??
Hi Paloma. I'm glad you're diving into clay!
1. to wedge clay is like "kneading" dough in cooking. it get's all the air bubbles out. At the most basic level this is squeezing the air bubbles out but there are lots of ways to do it. If your'e seeing bubbles when you carve, you may run into problems when you fire your piece. When you have air bubbles in a piece and you bisque fire (the first fire that makes it hard) too quickly the piece can explode. It happens to me every once in a while even still. Also, if you're piece is too thick you run the risk of it exploding in the kiln.
The rocky stuff you're feeling may be what's called GROG. Grog is little pieces of fired clay we mix into throwing clay sometimes to help give it more body - help it stand up easier on the wheel. It would feel like little pieces of sand in the otherwise smooth clay.
2. I can see how that would be hard to get all those little hairs or fibers out. When I stack and slam wedge i often have a little clump of fibers on the wire at the end of my stacking and slamming. I haven't noticed it being a problem in the fire but it might be depending on how much you have in there. Making sure youre piece is all the way dry and also bisque firing really slowly will reduce the risk of explosion in the kiln.
I hope that helps Paloma. let me know if you have other quetions! Way to go jumping into this clay journey!