sam bucus on mon 1 sep 08
hello,=20
=A0
my wife and i are looking at land around the Olympic Peninsula. in jefferso=
n and clallam counties, on the north or west sides near Clallam Bay down to=
below Forks.=20
=A0
Does anyone know if there are any good wild clays to use for a stoneware bo=
dy naturally occuring there that can be dug up? i have tried to search, but=
all i have found are a few slip clays and some fire clays over by seattle =
they used to make bricks out of. i am looking to dig clays for wood firing.=
=20
=A0
in general can anyone recommend online websites/resources to help search ou=
t where good pottery clays are? I have looked at soil sites, etc. but they =
are almost entirely geared to agricultural production, maybe forestry, not =
pottery.=A0=20
=A0
how can i found where there are good stoneware clays online? i currently li=
ve in korea, so i can't go there and dig around.=20
=A0
thanks,=20
=A0
sam=0A=0A=0A
Craig Martell on mon 1 sep 08
Hello Sam:
Try a search for >Clay Deposits Washington State< and also try googling
Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources. You can sometimes find maps
and reports filed on mineral deposits by checking with US Geological Survey
and a USGS branch called The Dept. of Mineralogy.
You may not be able to find exactly what you want on the peninsula but
there are certainly clay deposits in Washington that you could use if you
don't mind some digging and prep work. If all else fails you can get
Helmer Kaolin in Lewiston Idaho which is right across the river from
Clarkston, Washington. Perhaps Michael Wendt will respond to your
query. He has a lot of experience with local materials and he prepares all
the Helmer Kaolin at his place in Lewiston.
I'll talk to a friend who has a lot of info on clays and minerals in the
Northwest and see what he can tell me about The Olympic Peninsula.
regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon
Bill Merrill on mon 1 sep 08
Sam and Craig,
Something happened and I think my message was sent before I was
finished....
Most of the clays on the Olympic Peninsula are secondary and tertiary
clays. They are fine particled and have a high amount of iron in them.
There ia some clay close to the Straights of Juan DeFuca at Twin.
This clay is fine but is relatively free of iron. I have lived here
since 1970 and don't use any clay from here. I was raised on a ranch in
northern Wyoming and go home several times a year. Wyoming is a great
place to find clays, slip clays, bentonite, soda ash, spodumene,
dolomite, volcanic ash, feldspar etc. One needs a hammermill to mill
the harder materials.=20
Daniel Rhodes taught at a WW2 relocation camp between Cody and Powell,
Wyoming at Heart Mountain. There are natural stoneware clays there and
other clays were used to make sewer tiles from Lovell Clay Products in
Lovell, Wyoming. I used the Heart Mountain clay when I taught at
Northwest Community College in Powell from 1966 until 1970. I located a
letter Dan Rhodes wrote the State of Wyoming in 1941. There is a map
Dan drew where the clay he used rests. The clay is stoneware temp clay
that is a toasty brown-orange when reduction fired. When potters live
in large metro areas=20
It is usually difficult for them to become geologist explorers and
potters.=20
Wyoming is a great natural resource for the potter. =20
I used Hyram Dam clay from Utah to make a beautiful transparent green,
with gold crystals for many years. Hyram dam is in a small park and
probably is not available to dig clay there anymore. I use an Albany
slip like clay from Wyoming that is in an area by where I was raised. =20
Trail Creek slip is outside of Bozeman, Montana. Francis Senska has
used that slip for at least 50 years or more.
Chris Gum used rock from Mount Shasta. He bisque fired the rocks to
soften them and then crushed them up to a fine powder. He produced
beautiful celadons etc. It just became too much work and he started
using G 200 spar with very similar results. Dave Shaner also used a
feldspar (small chunks) in his clay sometimes to give the clay a
"Shigaraki" look in his wood fire
Tea bowls.
There was a clay from the Seattle area called Columbia fire clay. It
was very coarse and seemed more grog like than clay like. I generally
used 5% in a clay body. It made the clay much more orange in color when
reduction fired. I know the location of the clay pit but haven't
pursued mining it. This clay is close to Seattle International raceway.
All I need is more hours in the day!!
If one likes to explore materials that are still in their raw state, one
is only required to work hard and be willing to spend time on road trips
and doing research with state geological office from the state you want
to explore. The geological office will have most of their states
minerals etc. located, mapped and described. Happy trails!!!
Regards,
Bill
=20
=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Craig
Martell
Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 8:32 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Olympic Peninsula Local Clays???
Hello Sam:
Try a search for >Clay Deposits Washington State< and also try googling
Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources. You can sometimes find
maps
and reports filed on mineral deposits by checking with US Geological
Survey
and a USGS branch called The Dept. of Mineralogy.
You may not be able to find exactly what you want on the peninsula but
there are certainly clay deposits in Washington that you could use if
you
don't mind some digging and prep work. If all else fails you can get
Helmer Kaolin in Lewiston Idaho which is right across the river from
Clarkston, Washington. Perhaps Michael Wendt will respond to your
query. He has a lot of experience with local materials and he prepares
all
the Helmer Kaolin at his place in Lewiston.
I'll talk to a friend who has a lot of info on clays and minerals in the
Northwest and see what he can tell me about The Olympic Peninsula.
regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon
gayle bair on tue 2 sep 08
Eight years ago when we built our house here on Bainbridge Island WA I
found a small pocket
of clay when the hole for the septic tank was dug. I gathered about a
pintful.
After screening it I had a thimbleful. It was nursing baby poop yellow
but it fired to ^6 and was a rich warm brown. Unfortunately the
landscaper soon covered it up.
But truth be told it was way too much work and I use white claybodies.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island WA
Tucson AZ
gayle@claybair.com
www.claybair.com
On Sep 1, 2008, at 5:43 PM, Bill Merrill wrote:
> Sam and Craig,
>
> Something happened and I think my message was sent before I was
> finished....
>
> Most of the clays on the Olympic Peninsula are secondary and tertiary
> clays. They are fine particled and have a high amount of iron in
> them.
> There ia some clay close to the Straights of Juan DeFuca at Twin.
> This clay is fine but is relatively free of iron. I have lived here
> since 1970 and don't use any clay from here. I was raised on a
> ranch in
> northern Wyoming and go home several times a year. Wyoming is a great
> place to find clays, slip clays, bentonite, soda ash, spodumene,
> dolomite, volcanic ash, feldspar etc. One needs a hammermill to mill
> the harder materials.
>
> Daniel Rhodes taught at a WW2 relocation camp between Cody and Powell,
> Wyoming at Heart Mountain. There are natural stoneware clays there
> and
> other clays were used to make sewer tiles from Lovell Clay Products in
> Lovell, Wyoming. I used the Heart Mountain clay when I taught at
> Northwest Community College in Powell from 1966 until 1970. I
> located a
> letter Dan Rhodes wrote the State of Wyoming in 1941. There is a map
> Dan drew where the clay he used rests. The clay is stoneware temp
> clay
> that is a toasty brown-orange when reduction fired. When potters live
> in large metro areas
> It is usually difficult for them to become geologist explorers and
> potters.
> Wyoming is a great natural resource for the potter.
>
> I used Hyram Dam clay from Utah to make a beautiful transparent green,
> with gold crystals for many years. Hyram dam is in a small park and
> probably is not available to dig clay there anymore. I use an Albany
> slip like clay from Wyoming that is in an area by where I was raised.
>
> Trail Creek slip is outside of Bozeman, Montana. Francis Senska has
> used that slip for at least 50 years or more.
>
> Chris Gum used rock from Mount Shasta. He bisque fired the rocks to
> soften them and then crushed them up to a fine powder. He produced
> beautiful celadons etc. It just became too much work and he started
> using G 200 spar with very similar results. Dave Shaner also used a
> feldspar (small chunks) in his clay sometimes to give the clay a
> "Shigaraki" look in his wood fire
> Tea bowls.
>
> There was a clay from the Seattle area called Columbia fire clay. It
> was very coarse and seemed more grog like than clay like. I generally
> used 5% in a clay body. It made the clay much more orange in color
> when
> reduction fired. I know the location of the clay pit but haven't
> pursued mining it. This clay is close to Seattle International
> raceway.
> All I need is more hours in the day!!
>
> If one likes to explore materials that are still in their raw state,
> one
> is only required to work hard and be willing to spend time on road
> trips
> and doing research with state geological office from the state you
> want
> to explore. The geological office will have most of their states
> minerals etc. located, mapped and described. Happy trails!!!
>
> Regards,
>
> Bill
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Craig
> Martell
> Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 8:32 AM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: Re: Olympic Peninsula Local Clays???
>
> Hello Sam:
> Try a search for >Clay Deposits Washington State< and also try
> googling
> Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources. You can sometimes find
> maps
> and reports filed on mineral deposits by checking with US Geological
> Survey
> and a USGS branch called The Dept. of Mineralogy.
>
> You may not be able to find exactly what you want on the peninsula but
> there are certainly clay deposits in Washington that you could use if
> you
> don't mind some digging and prep work. If all else fails you can get
> Helmer Kaolin in Lewiston Idaho which is right across the river from
> Clarkston, Washington. Perhaps Michael Wendt will respond to your
> query. He has a lot of experience with local materials and he
> prepares
> all
> the Helmer Kaolin at his place in Lewiston.
>
> I'll talk to a friend who has a lot of info on clays and minerals in
> the
> Northwest and see what he can tell me about The Olympic Peninsula.
>
> regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon
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