Andi Bauer on sat 28 jan 06
Hi Carol,
We recently had the same problem, with Hopkins White stoneware from =
Aardvark in Southern California. We had used it for several years and =
loved it, so we ordered a TON of the stuff to be shipped to the =
hinterlands of the north Olympic Peninsula in Washington to have it on =
hand and not have to order soon. It was delivered while we were not at =
home and placed in the driveway... on the side of each box was a =
notation that the clay had been "reformulated and glazes would need to =
be tested" (however they did NOT tell us about this reformulation when =
we placed the order). =20
Okay, fine, we could deal with retesting our glazes; but then we =
discovered that when wedging, we were getting big dry cracks in the =
wedged clay and it was terrible to throw. Aardvark admitted that it was =
not a good throwing clay, but said that it should be fine for =
handbuilding (NOT!)-- and then the cracking started -- tiny hairline =
cracks in almost all of my flat pieces. I lost a lot of time and =
effort on many of my handbuilt pieces as well as delaying several =
orders. My husband was able to show enough proof (squeaky wheel) that =
the clay was defective that the company agreed to replace all of the =
clay at no cost. =20
It was delivered yesterday... however, they didn't agree to take back =
what was originally delivered, so we still have most of the original =
order. So it was a mixed blessing... now we have our new clay, which I =
can't wait to use (mostly B-mix, Rod's Bod and Coleman Porcelain)... but =
we also have a huge pallet of clay that we have to get rid of somehow -- =
and the dump charges by the pound! (Any ideas about disposing of this =
clay would be appreciated, by the way).
Good luck Carol; I know that Dubai is WAAAYY more remote than the =
Olympic Peninsula, so you have your work cut out for you.
Andi in Sequim, Washington on the north Olympic Peninsula, where I =
thought my roof was going to blow off last night... but there's blue sky =
this morning.
Potclays is probably going to
stonewall us on. We'll be sending them a sample of the bad clay but I =
don't
hold out much hope of any recompense. Personally, I would never buy =
another
thing from them but I am not the decision maker. I am already working =
on
something; I've wedged some of it half and half with another clay that =
the
hand-building classes us (also from Potclays) and that mixturewas ok to
throw. These experiment pots need bisquing, glazing and firing and then
we'll see if it bloats.
Thanks for listening. I just really needed to blow off some steam.
Moral of the story - BUY CLAY FROM A COMPANY THAT TESTS ITS CLAYS BEFORE =
IT
SHIPS THEM.
Malcolm Schosha on sat 28 jan 06
--- In clayart@yahoogroups.com, Andi Bauer wrote:
>
> It was delivered yesterday... however, they didn't agree to take
back what was originally delivered, so we still have most of the
original order. So it was a mixed blessing... now we have our new
clay, which I can't wait to use (mostly B-mix, Rod's Bod and Coleman
Porcelain)... but we also have a huge pallet of clay that we have to
get rid of somehow -- and the dump charges by the pound! (Any ideas
about disposing of this clay would be appreciated, by the way).
>
...................
Andi,
Someone might want the old clay for "clean land fill". When I was
living in the NY Catskills, sometimes there were ads in the local
paper requesting that.
On the other hand, if you let the clay age for a year or two it might
get better for throwing.
A number of years ago, when I was throwing pots at McQueeney Pottery
in TX, the supplier changed the clay without even telling us. I knew
it was different because it looked different. When we called them,
they admitted the clay had been 'reformulated'. It threw okay, and no
changes in the glazes were needed, but it would have been nice of the
supplier to tell us.
Malcolm Schosha
Brooklyn, NY
Ron Roy on sun 29 jan 06
Hi Andi,
Could be the Epsom salts will do the trick for you as well - or maybe a few
months of aging in a wrm place will do it.
Just don't count on getting any more of it.
RR
On the other hand - clay
>We recently had the same problem, with Hopkins White stoneware from
>Aardvark in Southern California. We had used it for several years and
>loved it, so we ordered a TON of the stuff to be shipped to the
>hinterlands of the north Olympic Peninsula in Washington to have it on
>hand and not have to order soon. It was delivered while we were not at
>home and placed in the driveway... on the side of each box was a notation
>that the clay had been "reformulated and glazes would need to be tested"
>(however they did NOT tell us about this reformulation when we placed the
>order).
>
>Okay, fine, we could deal with retesting our glazes; but then we
>discovered that when wedging, we were getting big dry cracks in the wedged
>clay and it was terrible to throw. Aardvark admitted that it was not a
>good throwing clay, but said that it should be fine for handbuilding
>(NOT!)-- and then the cracking started -- tiny hairline cracks in almost
>all of my flat pieces. I lost a lot of time and effort on many of my
>handbuilt pieces as well as delaying several orders. My husband was able
>to show enough proof (squeaky wheel) that the clay was defective that the
>company agreed to replace all of the clay at no cost.
>
>It was delivered yesterday... however, they didn't agree to take back what
>was originally delivered, so we still have most of the original order. So
>it was a mixed blessing... now we have our new clay, which I can't wait to
>use (mostly B-mix, Rod's Bod and Coleman Porcelain)... but we also have a
>huge pallet of clay that we have to get rid of somehow -- and the dump
>charges by the pound! (Any ideas about disposing of this clay would be
>appreciated, by the way).
>
>Good luck Carol; I know that Dubai is WAAAYY more remote than the Olympic
>Peninsula, so you have your work cut out for you.
>
>Andi in Sequim, Washington on the north Olympic Peninsula, where I thought
>my roof was going to blow off last night... but there's blue sky this
>morning.
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
Lee Love on sun 29 jan 06
On 2006/01/29 7:53:42, malcolmschosha@yahoo.com wrote:
> On the other hand, if you let the clay age for a year or two it might
> get better for throwing.
They add a ball clay, keibushi, to Mashiko clay to make it more
throwable.
--
Lee Love
in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://seisokuro.blogspot.com/ My Photo Logs
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
--Leonardo da Vinci
Ivor and Olive Lewis on mon 30 jan 06
Dear Andi Bauer,=20
A Ton of Cracking clay is a real pain, especially if it cannot be =
explained. As I said earlier I have had that problem. It was explained =
to me that the clay cam from a different level and face in the quarry. =
But no technical explanation.
But I do have an idea. I would call it the"Bay of Biscay" problem after =
the behaviour of Earth, soil in the Biscay region of France, west of =
Bordeaux. (Anyone on the list familiar with Saint-Laurent-M=E9doc ? ) =
This same problem exists on the Condowie Plains of South Australia. Our =
subsoil has a high degree of clay in it, not just any clay... not even =
useful Kaolinite. No, this is Halloysite. It has the remarkable quality =
of having cylindrical rather than Planar Crystals. these curl into tight =
scrolls when dry but unwind when they become wet. This causes the =
foundations of houses to move. They move so much.. walls crack....cracks =
you can put your arm through break across walls. Fissures form on =
playing fields that will trip you over and break you ankle. Shrinkage of =
the mud in a puddle is abut twenty five percent. So, suspect a high =
Halloysite in your sample and think "Bay of Biscay Clay".
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
South Australia.
Roly Beevor on mon 30 jan 06
Andi Bauer" wrote
but we also have a huge pallet of clay that we have to get rid of somehow --
and the dump charges by the pound! (Any ideas about disposing of this clay
would be appreciated, by the way).
>>>
How about using it to line a small pond? Good for local wildlife.
In a couple of years the clay may even have seasoned into something useful?
Roly Beevor
Bruce Girrell on mon 30 jan 06
You could always use it for hand building.
The white clay that Juan Quezada uses is terribly non-plastic. He gave me
some to work with. I patted it into the tortilla shape and when I bent it
slightly to start forming the bottom of the pot it cracked. I couldn't
believe that he could make a pot out of that stuff. It must be about 10%
clay and 90% pumice.
Indigenous potters all over the world use some of the most gawdawful clay to
make their pots from. With hand building you just repair the cracks and keep
on going.
Bruce "just 30,000 more pinch pots to make with this ton" Girrell
Barb Lund on mon 30 jan 06
find someone who is building a straw bale house and give it to them! The
bales are covered by about an inch of clay "plaster" at some point after
they are stacked.
Barb in Bloomington
brl@bluemarble.net
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