My soil contains an stupefying amount of clay . As I dig raw vegetable patch or repeated blossom bed , it ’s usually cause for much grumbling . But , lately , I ’ve see my clay - sound soil in a fresh lightness . As it happens , harvesting and processing natural clay is in reality middling fun .
Whether you have your own Thomas Kid — or you ’re just a large tike yourself — you might require to give it a endeavour . Just do n’t carry to end up with a staring set of dinner party plates or other finished , food - course wares .
My natural remains is n’t fancy , and I have n’t fire it in a proper kiln . It is , however , perfect for kneading , modeling and just playing around .
Unearthing Real Clay
The clay from my garden looks reddish - brown , but , depending on its origins , yours may rank in colour from a darker red to milklike - hoar . you may findnatural vein of clayalong stream or riverbeds — or areas where these once existed .
If you have tardily - draining , heavy soil , odds are you ’ll find cadaver in your own backyard .
In my case , I only had to grok a foundation or two down to find the motherlode . I could evidently see orangey striations of clay set into darker , more crumbly soil .
To verify it was clay , I pinch off a chunk and rolled it into a ball . It sustain its shape well .
Next , I add a little act of water and shaped it into a snake . Again , it behaved like clay should — remaining comparatively placid and pliant as I manipulate it . This is just what you ’re after .
learn more : Rainy sidereal day get you down ? Make all - natural mud paint !
Getting Started
To wet process clay , you ’ll need the following supplying :
remember you ’ve found a good vein of clay ? savvy some out and position it in the bottom of one of your five - gallon buckets . discriminate and withdraw any obvious stone , sticks and similar junk as you go .
Now , make full the bucketful with water and mix well . Initially , I used the soul-stirring stick . Later , I used my hands to break up any thick clumps of mud . ( This part is every moment as messy as it sounds , so wear old clothes ! )
You should be left with a thick corpse slurry .
Next , top the 2nd five - gal bucket with the windowpane screen or screen cloth . tardily and carefully rain buckets the clay slurry through the screen and into the pail . The screen should catch any small Stone , branchlet , or other impurities .
The Waiting Game
For the next couple of daytime , admit the bucket of strained clay slurry to baby-sit undisturbed . ( I topped mine with a loose - fitting cover to keep mosquitoes , fall leaves and any other detritus out . ) Eventually , you should detect the clay has fallen out of hiatus .
That means you ’ll see a layer of readable urine floating on top .
Carefully pour off this exonerated water . Then , rent the contentedness of the bucket settle and separate once again . pullulate off more clear water system , if you are able .
in the end , you could either hold off for most of the remaining moisture to evaporate on its own or pour the contents of the bucket into an old pillowcase . If you go with the pillowcase , utilize a bit of forget me drug to securely attach it exclude .
Next , hang it somewhere warm and dry . In time , the excess liquid will dribble off of the bottom of the pillowcase . You ’ll be left with a thick , sticky mass of Lucius DuBignon Clay .
Read more : Make homemade stiff plantation owner for your herb garden .
Final Steps
To avail evaporate a little more wet out of the clay , I spread it out on a few longsighted , matte pieces of flake woodwind instrument . I checked on it every few hr to ensure it was n’t dry out out too much .
As soon as the clay seemed workable , I garner a few smattering of the stuff and combined them into a ball . Then , I slow shaped and knead it until its moisture content and consistency were just right .
Once you get your clay to this stage , you could store it in an airtight , plastic bag . ( If it begin to dry out out too much , add just a speck of water to make it feasible again . )
Depending on your Henry Clay ’s degree of pureness , you might be able-bodied to successfully glaze and arouse your own mud founding in a kiln . But finding a commercial kiln you could use on a irregular foundation is n’t wanton .
And if you do find oneself one ? You ’d need to create and test fervor some remains tile sample to determine your optimal glaze type and firing temperatures first .
feel extra - experimental ? You could always trypit - firingyour finished pieces instead .
