Preparing the clay involves making sure that the clay is moist but not too wet and sticky. You also need to make sure that the clay is free of air bubbles, free of lumps and has a homogeneous consistency. Kneading your clay is an important step in the preparation process.

Here are the steps we recommend when preparing clay to perform your art.

How Moist Should Your Clay Be?

Ideally, you want your slurry to be soft and mouldable. However, it should be at a point where it is not too wet, i.e. it should not leave a sticky residue when you roll it out.

We suggest you take a handful of clay the size of an orange and experiment with it. If the clay is too hard and difficult to mould or crumbles a little, it is probably too dry. Conversely, if the clay sticks to your hands, it is probably too wet.

Therefore, if your clay has been in storage for several months, it is likely to have dried out.

If your clay is not workable, it becomes more difficult to handle, especially if you are going to work on a workbench. Here's how to soften it...

Use a damp towel or cloth

The day before you use your clay bag, check whether it is soft. If you need to soften it, cut the clay into slices about 2-3 cm thick.
Then wrap each slice in a damp cloth. You can stack the wrapped slices on top of each other and put them in a plastic bag. Leave it overnight and your clay will be ready for use.

Add Water to the Clay Bag

Another way to re-hydrate your hardened clay is to add just a little water to the clay clay.

If you pour some water into the clay bag, the water can accumulate at the bottom of the bag. As a result, the clay at the bottom of the bag may become waterlogged and watery. Therefore, do not add too much water.

Instead, you can just spray and close the bag again. The next day check whether the clay is sufficiently moist, if not you can add a little more water and repeat the process.

Another way to prevent water from sinking to the bottom of the bag is to poke holes in the clay block. You can then pour water into the holes. This helps the water to get into the lower layers of the clay and prevents it from accumulating at the bottom of the bag.

After pouring some water into the holes, close the bag again and wait overnight for the clay to absorb the moisture.

For more information on how to moisturise clay in this way, read our article ‘How to store clay.

Sometimes the clay can be so wet that it is not soft enough to handle.

If your clay is almost liquid, the best way to reduce the water level in your clay is to spread it on a plasterboard.

Plaster is a very absorbent material and will draw the liquid out of the clay very quickly. They are very easy to make and can be very useful when preparing clay , as they are really very practical for preparing clay.

Spread your almost liquid clay on your plasterboard and let the plaster quickly absorb the water from the clay.

When the clay is hard enough, you can remove it from the plasterboard and prepare it for use in your artwork.

Before using your clay, you should remove any air bubbles and make sure it is flat.

Air Drying

What can you do if your clay is too runny? clay dries quite quickly when left in the open air. Take some clay from the bag, shape it into a ball with your hands and set it aside to dry for a while.

Let's say you are planning to make a cup. Prepare the lumps and leave them for a while while you do something else.

We recommend that you check your clay regularly to make sure that the clay does not dry out too quickly. If you are in a hot and dry climate, the clay will harden quickly. Therefore be careful not to leave it too long.

If you don't prepare your clay and get rid of the air bubbles, your piece may end up crooked. 

Air bubbles are also a nuisance when working by hand. Especially when making a clay plate. If you open your clay, air bubbles will appear in it and spoil your beautiful slab.

One of the reasons to get rid of air bubbles in your clay is that they can cause your artefact to explode in the kiln. 

It is not the air bubbles themselves that cause your artefacts to disintegrate when fired. However, during firing, the moisture in the clay evaporates.

When the moisture turns into vapour, it expands into the air bubbles in the clay. This puts too much pressure on your artefact and causes it to crumble. 

It is the healthiest way to get rid of the air bubbles in your clay before you start.