Ellen and Tom on wed 1 jun 11
Yes, I've fired my dirt. I live in what is called the "red hills of=3D20
Dundee". All the
dirt on the top of the hills is a rich red with iron, which tracks onto=3D2=
0
everything
and stains the water. Used to be all cherry and prune orchards and now
vinyards. Clay from the side of a new road cut was easy to wedge up,=3D20
with
no additives, and I threw several medium sized bowls with it. The clay=3D2=
0
we
dug out of the first test pit for a septic system, when we moved into=3D20
the woods
to build our own home, made a really good solid brick which we still=3D20
use for
a door stopper. (We didn't get a permit for that hole!) Stupid Sheep=3D2=
0
Creek
runs through the little swale at the bottom of our property and=3D20
sometimes
floods in the Spring. The dirt there is rich and years ago was used for
a large truck garden. Now it is environmentally protected and can't be=3D2=
0
used
for anything. Mud dug out of it was easy to clean of a few roots and=3D20
weeds,
wedged and thrown into small thin bowls. I glazed them in a simple slip
glaze made from a low fire brick clay from my grandmother's farm, and
fired them at cone 04. They have a lovely clear ring.
Did I switch to low fire pottery as a result? No. While we make our=3D20
own
clay using an old Navy dough mixer and a Venco Pug mill, I just can't
envision all the extra work of digging and preparing it from scratch. =3D20
Too
old for that, I guess, but I do think of it sometimes as a hidden asset=3D2=
0
that
we could access if times got really tough. When I say we make our
own clay, I really mean my husband makes our clay to a formula we
worked out 30 years ago and have adapted a bit as materials changed.
At 78 it is not as easy for him as it used to be, and we now pay a 23
year old grandson and his buddy to come help make the clay. They
both have had and enjoy pottery classes in college, and would probably
do it for nothing, but it is money well spent. It is all pugged and=3D20
bagged
as it is made, and often has a 3 or 4 month aging time, before it is
pugged again just before use. I use about a ton and a half a year.
Ellen Currans
Dundee, Oregon
-----Original Message-----
From: Stephani Stephenson
To: Clayart
Sent: Wed, Jun 1, 2011 5:19 am
Subject: Fired your dirt?
i made some adobe blocks with mine, just dirt mixed with a little=3D20
straw, tosee what they did. then i stuck a 1X1.5 X 3" little block in a=3D2=
0
cone 2 firing. wow, it made a lovely little brick with red to dark=3D20
taupe coloration,strong, not overfired, not underfired. shrinkage about=3D2=
0
12%.painted some slipon other clay and it too is a nice color and seems=3D2=
0
to be well fired on.well, hmm, this could be interesting! my soil is=3D20
definitely in the clayeysilt, silty clay, clayey loam, clay, clay=3D20
family.... seemed to handle thefiring with no additive at all. but it=3D20
just made me wonder who else has fired their dirt!?Stephani Stephenson
=3D20
Michael Flaherty on thu 2 jun 11
i'm doing this right now. not with dirt from my yard, as i live in the m=
=3D
iddle of=3D20
town, but from a 20 minute bicycle ride around the bay. i've just moved =
=3D
to=3D20
this part of newfoundland where there actually is clay (most of the islan=
=3D
d is=3D20
boggy or barren) so i'm going to make the most of it while i'm here.
i went looking for clay about three weeks ago and brought back a tiny sam=
=3D
ple=3D20
to try out. on a second trip a week later i brought back whatever i coul=
=3D
d fit=3D20
on my bike and still pedal - probably about 20 pounds. last week i broug=
=3D
ht my=3D20
class over there in vehicles and we dug out about 100 pounds.
the clay is very red, very fine grained and very pure. if you dig down u=
=3D
nder=3D20
the grass (about 4 inches) you can get clay that is perfect for throwing =
=3D
with=3D20
just a little wedging. very little work required. if i had a pug mill i=
=3D
t would be=3D20
no work. i maybe find one or two tiny pebbles per 1 pound ball. i've al=
=3D
so=3D20
dried, slaked and sieved a small amount to use for throwing as well. it'=
=3D
s a=3D20
little floppy, and might not be great for giant forms, but i've already m=
=3D
ade=3D20
some nice open bowl forms and one-piece goblets with it.
my first pieces bisque fired to a nice orange colour, and they are in the=
=3D
glaze=3D20
kiln right now (i can hear the kiln relays clicking in the background). =
=3D
i've got a=3D20
sculpture of a turtle in there, and the first few pinch pots. the thrown=
=3D
work is=3D20
still in the damp cupboard awaiting trimming. i've also mixed up a glaze=
=3D
=3D20
containing 10 percent of this clay, but it didn't produce any colour in t=
=3D
he=3D20
otherwise clear base. i'll do a more systematic glaze experiment maybe t=
=3D
his=3D20
weekend. and i've used some of the throwing slurry as a slip - those pie=
=3D
ces=3D20
are in the bisque now. i can imagine that this clay could probably be im=
=3D
proved=3D20
with the addition of some materials - fireclay, grog/sand, barium carb fo=
=3D
r=3D20
scumming, etc. but not having access to a mixer or pugmill it wouldn't m=
=3D
ake=3D20
sense to try to turn this into a blended body - it either has to work for=
=3D
me as=3D20
it is or else not at all.
all-in-all a pretty exciting venture. i'm not assigning any of the techn=
=3D
ical work=3D20
to my students, but they are keeping a very close eye on what's going on.=
=3D
=3D20=3D20
and at least a couple of them are considering doing a large scale tempora=
=3D
ry=3D20
on-site sculpture with the clay.
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