Reclaiming Clay
Reclaiming clay is one of the less glamorous studio tasks but a necessary one to reduce wastage in the pottery studio. When you throw and trim pottery on the wheel you are continually discarding bits of clay, whether it be slops from throwing or the leather hard clay from trimming your vessel after it has dried a little. All of this clay is reusable. The remnant clay is tipped into a larger bucket to reclaim at a later date, typically when the bucket has filled, the contents have slaked down and excess water removed. At this point the clay is like thick custard that is ready to be poured onto a porous cement slab and allowed to dry slowly with the water evaporating and the clay hardening without drying out. The slab of clay can now be re wedged and reused in the studio. The clay in this picture is at this stage, it is no longer runny but still moist enough to be wedged (similar to kneading dough). There are currently about six buckets of clay waiting to be reclaimed in this studio. The warmer, spring weather makes the process a lot easier as the clay dries out quickly. I can spread it on a slab on a Monday and watch over it during the week as it slowly dries. By the following Monday it is ready to be re wedged and reused in the studio.
Uses for reclaimed clay
Reclaimed clay can be considered slightly inferior to new clay, particularly when you are blending more than one clay. Blending clay can change the colour of the clay, how it fires, glaze reactions etc. Particles of dust, dirt and hair can also find their way into the clay from open buckets or being exposed on the slab. Mold often forms in the reclaim bucket particularly when left for lengthy periods. My theory is that these impurities are all burned out during firing. I tend to use the reclaimed clay for planters and ornamental objects as well as experimentation like the ceramic bells pictured here. This is my first attempt at making ceramic bells using the pinch method. They have been made using a reclaimed blend of iron rich, mid fire clays. After pinching the pots and allowing them to harden a little, I have then carved different patterns into the clay using carving tools in the studio and implements like skewers from the kitchen. Carving is a lot of fun and a great way to make the piece creatively dynamic which is in keeping with my style. It also creates pockets for glazes to pool thereby intensifying or changing the colour of the glaze. The textural edges are perfect for glazes that break over the clay, sometimes exposing the clay beneath which is a nice contrast for the pooling that occurs within the texture.
BREAKING GLAZES
This is an example of a finished product, a leggy planter, showing glaze breaking over texture to reveal the base clay, a sandy speckled clay. The green pools in the carved cavities where the colour is intensified. An iron rich matte glaze has been used for the legs and the base of the planter to contrast with the green and to add some rustic earthiness to the finished product.
Et Al Ceramics is a small ceramics studio in Williamstown. The intention of this blog is to share in note / journal form what’s happening in the studio and life in general. The main categories of the blog are listed below. Looking forward to feedback and connectivity.
Major Content Buckets : Categories
- Ceramics
- Intuition & Creativity
- Travel & Photography
- Plants and Garden
- Connection & Community
