Anne Wellings on wed 19 oct 05
Elizabeth,
I am looking for other red clays to try as alternatives to the one I am
using. I found out that Laguna Clay sells sample packs where you can get
(if I remember right) eight 3# samples of different clays, and I think it
was within a category such as red, white or buff clays of a certain firing
range. I ordered the sample pack of ^5 red clays and I think it was around
$15, maybe less. My local clay supplier was able to get it for me. I have
not gotten around to testing these yet, but am looking forward to doing so,
and thought you might be interested in the possiblity. I now fire a ^6
clay to more like ^5 and would prefer one that vitrifies at a slightly
lower temperature. Sounds like that might work for you, too. The Laguna
website is www.lagunaclay.com, and you can see descriptions of all the
clays there and find out where the nearest distributor is.
Anne
Gene & Dolita Dohrman on wed 19 oct 05
Elizabeth, I have been going through much the same exercise you have. So
far this has been my experience:
Laguna Miller #50 - a little too much grog for me and too gray when fired.
Only a few of my glazes look good on it.
B-mix 5(WC401) no grog - I like this a lot but it does not handbuild well.
All my glazes look good on this clay. It behaves very much like porcelain.
Standard 213 porcelain - it does not fire white, same color as the B-mix (a
very light cream).
Again, I cannot handbuild with it.
Standard 266 dark brown - nice to throw with but I don't like it as much as
the Earthen Red. My glazes don't look that great.
Highwater Earthen Red - this is a great clay. Some of my glazes just look
beautiful on it. Worth keeping in the studio.
Highwater Little Loafers - a really tight clay. Not sure I like it more
than B-mix though.
Standard 112 - a warm, toasty clay with speckles. Real nice to throw with.
The jury is out.
Two more that I would like to try are B-mix 5 with grog and Highwater's
Buncombe White. Then I really have to make a decision.
It is tough at first but worth all the testing. I was doing five tests per
glaze for awhile. Just one piece of advice, do not use a range clay. Get
one strictly for ^6. You probably already know this.
Dolita
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Karin on wed 19 oct 05
New Mexico Clay has Anasazi with a firing range of 6-10, has some lovely
iron specks in it, great for wheel or hand-building.
Karin Hurt
www.laughingbearpottery.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Anne Wellings"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2005 11:25 PM
Subject: Re: cone 6 clay body
> Elizabeth,
>
> I am looking for other red clays to try as alternatives to the one I am
> using. I found out that Laguna Clay sells sample packs where you can get
> (if I remember right) eight 3# samples of different clays, and I think it
> was within a category such as red, white or buff clays of a certain firing
> range. I ordered the sample pack of ^5 red clays and I think it was around
> $15, maybe less. My local clay supplier was able to get it for me. I have
> not gotten around to testing these yet, but am looking forward to doing
> so,
> and thought you might be interested in the possiblity. I now fire a ^6
> clay to more like ^5 and would prefer one that vitrifies at a slightly
> lower temperature. Sounds like that might work for you, too. The Laguna
> website is www.lagunaclay.com, and you can see descriptions of all the
> clays there and find out where the nearest distributor is.
>
> Anne
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Carole Fox on wed 19 oct 05
Elizabeth - Here are what I use for white and dark bodies respectively:
Laguna ^5 B-Mix. Fires creamy white, does fine at ^5 and ^6. Very
smooth, no grog, easy to carve surface of pot, takes glazes beautifully.
Easy to throw, not great for hand building, takes practice to get
attachments like handles to stick.
Laguna WC-611. Dark, slightly reddish brown with noticeable grog; the
grog makes light grey specks in fired body. Good for throwing and hand-
building. Glazes look darker/more intense on this body than on most
lighter colored clays. I like this better than Standard's dark brown
body, mostly because of the color of the fired clay.
However, you may have different preferences than I, your firing may yield
different results, you may have a different palette of glazes, etc., so I
encourage you to try several clays yourself. I know you can buy a sample
pack of multiple clay bodies from Laguna - maybe from other suppliers as
well.
Good Luck!
Carole Fox
Dayton, Ohio
Dorie Mickelson on wed 19 oct 05
Hi Elizabeth,
You will probably get as many recommendations as there are potters on this
list, but my personal preference is for a very white clay body manufactured
by Rovin Ceramics (www.rovinceramics.com) called RO-95, or "cone 6 white
porcelain". Their catalog description says that this clay is "a very white
domestic kaolin porcelain for firing to cone 6" with "superior workability -
well suited for wheel work and hand building". I have used this clay in my
own studio for about two years now (predominantly for wheel thrown work) and
really love it. It is a nice soft buttery clay with good elasticity for
throwing, and fires to a smooth white surface that shows off glaze colors
beautifully. I fire it in an electric kiln to cone 6. Per the Rovin
Ceramics catalog, the shrinkage percentage rate is listed as: C/1=7.8,
C/6=11.7, C/10=13.3 and the absorption percentage rate is listed as C/1=7.4,
C/6=0.9, C/10=0.3. Rovin is located in Michigan...don't know what state you
live in or if you are trying to find a local distributor or not...Rovin has
other nice clay bodies to choose from as well but RO-95 is my favorite...
Good luck!
Dorie Mickelson in Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.FreeSpiritCreations.com
******************************************************
From: Elizabeth Flannery
Subject: cone 6 clay body
SNIP
kiln, I am making the change to cone 6 - electric. It is more challenging
than I anticipated. Can anyone recommend some cone 6 clay bodies so I
don't have to test everyone on the market and go broke doing it!? Elizabeth>
Janet Price on wed 19 oct 05
Elizabeth,
Orangestone from ART in the Milwaukee area has a lovely rust color with
a lot of texture to the color, has good tooth for throwing and
handbuilding, has very low shrinkage, which means that joining works
well. I fire it to cone 4 or 5. Above that it is likely to slump.
BUT, glazes tend to react very differently on it than on other clay
bodies. While I've had some glazes that are well behaved and remain
smooth and glossy, others change, usually in some sort of funky way,
which is great for planters, but might not be good for dinnerware.
Janet Price
Elizabeth Flannery wrote:
> Hi all!
>
> I am new to the clayart group, but have been reading some of the daily
> discussions - great stuff! I have some questions regarding cone 6 clay
> bodies. Since I have recently moved and no longer have access to a gas
> kiln, I am making the change to cone 6 - electric. It is more challenging
> than I anticipated. At the moment my main issue is that I cannot find a
> clay body that I like. I have only tested about 7 bodies and am not hooked
> on any of them. I like the way this one throws, but don't like the fired
> color, or the glaze is crazing like mad, etc. . . . Some of these bodies
> are formulated for cone 6-10 and I have recently read and been told that I
> should find a body specifically formulated for cone 6 (or cone 4-6) as the
> glaze will fit better. Can anyone recommend some cone 6 clay bodies so I
> don't have to test everyone on the market and go broke doing it!? Ideally I
> would like a white body and a dark body with lots of tooth! Thanks and I
> look forward to being a part of this discussion group! - Elizabeth
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
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