How to make potter's clay from earth? If you think that natural clay can only be found in the countryside, you are mistaken. Whether you live in the city centre or in the countryside, you are probably surrounded by soils that are just dying to be turned into clay. In this blog post, we share with you how you can get the perfect potter's clay.
How Can I Find Clay in the Local Area? Soil, sand and clay are the three basic elements of nature. But understanding the differences between them plays an important role in the world of art. We can squeeze wet sand in the palm of our hand and create a shape. However, over time, this shape will crack and disintegrate. This is often the case with the soil in your garden. We can make objects from wet soil, but when you try to bend it and shape it a little more, it may disintegrate or break. This is where clay comes in and has a property beyond these three elements: Plasticity. Plasticity is the ability of clay to bend and hold its shape when wet. You can understand what plasticity means by opening a clay mould and bending it into a ring. If the clay can be bent into an arc without disintegrating or breaking, this is called plasticity. Although there are differences between clay types, it is important that the clay used for pottery has some plasticity. Plasticity gives clay the ability to be shaped and formed into works of art. If you are looking for natural sources of clay, it is important to pay attention to plasticity. Understanding how to integrate and mould clay from nature into the world of pottery will add value to your art and projects.
How to Find Local Pottery Clay? Investigation of Soil Soils: As a first step, go outside and carefully examine the soil in your neighbourhood. Observe the texture, colour and structure of the soil at each step. This is a critical step in finding natural potter's clay. Conducting Research: Do a little research and find out where potter's clay deposits can be found in your area. Parks, canal and river banks, or rural areas where rainwater collects are ideal places for natural pottery clay. Investigations in these areas can help you find the material you are looking for. Descriptive Properties of Natural Pottery Clay: There are some basic characteristics for recognising natural potter's clay. The clay you are looking for should have a smooth shape and slightly orange, red tones. If it feels plastic when you pick it up and bends without cracking when you shape it, you may have found the right clay.
Turning the soil into clay 1. Dividing the Soil into Small Pieces: Clay-containing soil is often found in large clumps. You cannot easily break up these clumps by hand. Therefore, use a wide brick cutter and mallet to break the large clumps into small pieces. Be careful and protect your health. 2. Dissolving Soil in Water: Put the small pieces in a bucket and add water and close the bucket. This will help the soil to dissolve in water and separate from the clay. After waiting for a while, the same should be done with all the other pieces. 3. Mixing Clay and Soil: After a few days or a week, when the soil becomes liquid, mix the clay and water. This process is necessary to bring it to a smooth clay consistency. As a quick and effective method, you can use a drill bit and paint stirrer. 4. Straining Liquid Clay: Strain the liquid mixture through a large sieve to remove soil and debris. Initially use a sieve with large holes and then continue with sieves with progressively smaller holes. Finally, strain through a fine sieve. 5. Refining Liquid Clay: After straining through a fine sieve, strain your liquid clay through a 60-mesh strainer. This preserves the character of the clay while removing sand and debris. 6. Drying of Liquid Clay: Pour the liquid clay onto a cloth and gently drain it. If it is not possible to dry it outside, you can dry it indoors using a metal rack. Follow the process for a few days to 10 days to allow the clay to harden and take shape. 7. Preparation of Workable Clay: When you see that the clay is completely dry and can be removed from the fabric, transfer the clay to the plasterboard. At this stage the clay has reached a kneadable consistency. 8. Kneading of Workable Clay: The clay may still be wet when removed from the plasterboard. You will need to knead the clay to remove air pockets and to improve its consistency. When you have completed this process, you will have beautiful clay that you have produced yourself from the earth.
Baking Clay Made from Earth You should be more careful when firing your clay produced from clay. The potter's clay you have purchased is produced in standard sizes and you will be told the firing temperature. However, this is not the case for the pottery clay you produce yourself. You cannot know how your own clay will react in the kiln during the first firing. Before firing all the clay you have produced, you need to do a few test firings. Make a small test object from the clay you have produced and place it in your kiln. In this way, you will know in advance if the clay you have produced will have an unexpected result and you can save your oven racks. If your test product looks good when you take it out of the oven, you can mould and bake the remaining clay in the desired shape.