bonnie staffel on sun 12 jun 05
Dear Clayarters,
I have to jump in this discussion with my experience with using local clays.
The nearest pit to where I lived was across the river in Perrysburg where
they dug red clay to make field tiles. I purchased that clay for a year and
it was not cleaned of sticks or stones. So we made it into a slurry in big
barrels in our back yard and hung the screened clay in burlap bags to become
the proper consistency. If it wasn't for the strength of my husband, I
could not have handled it. Again at low fire in an electric kiln, it really
didn't matter outside of getting rid of the stones, whether it had
impurities or not. When my sister built her house out on the farm, saw some
clay and dug that up to use. My husband (also an artist) made a beautiful
sculpture out of it. Even built a special sized electric kiln so we could
bisque it. After a week of being in the studio air it started popping like
popcorn. Lesson learned, that small pieces of lime were in the clay and
created this disaster. The piece was lost. Next on our list of a source
was in Flat Rock, Michigan, where there was a flower pot company using red
clay. So we contacted them and brought home these beautiful slabs of red
clay. Ready to use, no lime, no stones. So then I could get on with my
work. Another time someone told us about a source of interesting clay
around Lansing. They made high fire sewer tiles. So we got some of that
clay. Talk about sulphur fumes!!! Since my kiln was in a lower level of my
house, we had to leave the building whenever I fired. But it was a
beautiful clay with all the impurities showing. Now you potters who laud
getting the real thing, you probably have a gas or wood fired kiln. No need
to worry about fumes. You really have to look at the other side of the
picture. We all do not fire with the same equipment. Doesn't make you or
me any better, just different opportunities. We all can't live in the
country with no neighbors to worry about, or city/county rules to abide by.
Even where I live, I cannot even do my pit firing. Luckily I have friends
in the country so carry out that process at their places.
Looking through catalogs of ceramic suppliers, it would take me a lifetime
to test all the clays offered. Even with digging local clays, there are
inherent changes from one area to another, more testing. This is not my
quest in life now. I just want to keep making the next pot, and luckily, my
clay supplier gives me a clay that is functional for me. To change a clay
body now would mean I would have to go through more glaze tests. I have
made bushel baskets of tests in my years of working. When I moved to NC
hated to have to throw them out.
It just seems that some posters to this list would realize that there are
different ways of doing things, and all do not fit into the same mold.
Everyone works in what the circumstances present. I don't feel I am any
less of a potter because I fire in an electric kiln. I have had a gas kiln
myself and while at the Campbell School in 1987 was instrumental in getting
their wood kiln built against the director's enthusiasm. Keeping up with
the activities of the school, I see that they are offering quite a number of
classes in wood firing now. In fact, it was an Elderhostel class that built
the kiln with about five students, three of whom were women. All of them
were over 65. Tracy Dotson designed the kiln after my specifications and
was there to lead the students through the class. There was not the fervor
for wood firing back in those days but I felt that it would be useful in the
future as potters wanted to learn the process.
So let us show more tolerance for each other. Be happy for the successes
and offer help with the failures. Both men and women do what they can do in
their own way. No one needs to be put down because they don't do things
"your" way.
Best regards,
Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
http://vasefinder.com/bstaffelgallery1.html
Charter Member Potters Council
Ellen Currans on mon 31 aug 09
We have mixed our own clay body since about l980 in an old dough mixer resc=
ued from a Navy ship. ??
We found it in the back yard of a one time potter and my husband fixed it u=
p to use with an extra motor
to change three phase to two phase ?(whatever that means!) ? He mixes the c=
lay, about 267 lbs per
batch. ? For some reason I can never convince him to add the scrap slop to =
the batch. ?He prefers to
dry it out in bisque bowls and run it through the pugmill with the fresh cl=
ay. ?We never have much slop on?
hand. ?Just a few buckets of drying trimmings from the wheel. ?The slab tri=
mmings all go immediately into
a plastic bag and back out to the pug mill. ?We have a Venco de-airing pugm=
ill and love it. ?
I could not mix clay myself in the dough mixer. ?It is just too heavy and c=
lunky. ?I would have to hire
some young potter to do that for me, but I could always pug whatever I have=
available in the Venco.
We use the Venco to prepare clay for throwing and slabbing as we need it. ?=
Clay that has been pugged
and setting around in plastic bags for more than a couple weeks is harder t=
o throw and causes
more warping on slabs. ?(In my opinion!) ?As I have gotten older, I find th=
at I need to throw softer clay, and
I like the clay firmer for slabs, so it is great to be able to customize th=
e clay to my needs.
Ellen Currans
Dundee, Oregon ?
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