How to Test & Evaluate a New Wild Clay Source
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 พ.ย. 2024
- ⬇️ Info about this video and links to classes and social media are below
🧭 My website: ancientpottery...
ℹ️ About this video
This video shows how I approach a new source of wild clay to determine whether it is good for making pottery and how best to process it. Taking you through the entire process of testing and evaluating clay from collecting a new clay in the field to testing the clay for plasticity, calcium and shrinkage, through tempering and forming a small pinch pot.
Wild Clay 101 online masterclass - ancientpottery...
How I dry process my clay - • Harvesting & Processin...
How to identify clay in nature - • How To Identify Clay i...
❤️ Support my channel
Channel membership / ancientpottery
Ancient Potters Club ancientpottery...
👕 T shirts and other merch - teespring.com/...
🛍 Shop for pottery related goodies
Classes, tools and pottery are available at my online store: ancientpottery...
📚 Improve your pottery skills
Check out my in-person pottery workshops and online masterclasses to improve your pottery making skills. ancientpottery...
⭐️ Social media
Facebook - / andywardpottery
Instagram - / ancientpottery
📬 Send me mail
Andy Ward PO Box 43601 Tucson, AZ 85733
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Sorry about the blank screen at 3:20 I had a little phone video in there of the selenite and something went wrong when I exported the video. Big oops!
Its OK👍🏻
Authentic filming!
Would talcum powder be a good temper?
@@motog4-75 I'm no expert, but I suspect anything containing calcite that can be ground into powder can be used for tempering. He mentioned ground sea shells and feathers, both of which contain calcite if I'm not mistaken.
No problem your videos are great!
It's incomprehensible how this channel isn't getting more views, likes and subscribers. Great job and highly educational.
I know right? Come on people, tell your friends so I can blow up!
الترجمة تحت الفديو بالعربية سيحصل على كثير من المتابعين تحتو ليس لدينا من يشرح لنا كعرب
Agreed, Jesus Christ the sovereign God loves you my friends
I hope you can have hope thanks to the Holy Trinity, as God has miraculously healed me of my years long chronic breathing issues, instantly in an anointed prayer
Agreed clearly means people are interested in other things which is fine. Lol
Give it some time. Just found this and I love it. There are people like us!
Thanks Andy. You are a naturally born teacher. Your passion shines through. I am not a potter, but I love your videos. Maybe one day I’ll get into it. Once again, thanks from ‘down-under’.
Thanks for the kind words, I am glad you are enjoying my content.
i’ve been absolutely fascinated by pottery and especially wild sourced clay and at home firing lately; these videos are a gold mine, i lose myself in them for hours. thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Thank you for watching my content. I am glad you appreciate it.
@@AncientPottery one question, do you know how to do tapial walls?
This channel is a gold(or clay) mine of knowledge for someone like me in a developing country to start a new hobby on pottery. Thank you for sharing your passion Andy. You're helping people from the all over the world get started on pottery!
Glad to help. Thanks for watching.
I am literally just using the dirt from the high spots that were covered by crappy sod which is probably somewhat local dirt. It worked surprisingly well but my tiny ugly dish is still drying and I don't know if it'll actually turn to ceramic after firing. I saw a video of yours a year ago and remembered about it and here I am with a sketchy dish and a bunch of dirt dough. I am definitely enjoying myself and making a hell of a mess.
Love this vid. You are doing the very important service of teaching ancient knowledge that most are clueless ever existed. The skills you present are priceless when it comes to ensuring the survival of mankind. Be proud of the gifts you give for they are great indeed.
Much appreciated
Thank you, Andy! You're a great teacher!
Thank you, I am trying
This is the kind of thing I like about your videos. Practical, hands on and useful tips. Thanks!
Thanks Angela
Great video Andy, my son asked me all the questions you just answered, I shared the video with him, after 25 years of working with clay I missed many of the answers myself😌thank you again for sharing your passion🕊✨🌹
Glad to help, thanks for watching
I accidentallied upon your channel. I very much enjoy this! My dad is a geologist from Farmington and this was right up my alley. Keep up the great work!
Thanks, glad you are enjoying it
Hi Andy.
I just wanted to say thank you for your vidioes. Much apreciated!
When l was younger and at Uni l studied ceramics and glass, as my minor of a BA degree.
You have rekindald my interest after many years and thought me loads.
I retire this coming year, and having just brought a small homestead, withe clay on it! Thought l might like to try mu hand at what you show. Sounds fun!
Our please is in Latvia across the pond. At presant we (my good lady wife and l) are in The UK.
Well thank's again and please keep up the fine work.
Malkuta
Thank you, glad I could provide some inspiration.
Great video, thank you
Glad you liked it!
You gift us with such valuable knowledge! I really don't know what I am waiting for to go and try all of this by myself (sure my kids will enjoy it too) I just need to pass by that though that I am not crafty enough...
You can do it! Thanks for watching.
Oh yes! I sure know that feeling!!! But ... I started. Still a beginner, but alone the touch of my selfprocessed clay is rewarding!
Just found this channel. I've been trying to get into pottery for a while now and I was determined to find my own clay. thanks for the help
I hope you can find a good clay. You're welcome.
Very interesting and well explained. Thank you very much!
You are welcome.
Glad I found this channel. So much clay just outside my house.
Awesome, now you know what to do with it.
Ive concluded that mine is ball and bentonite. Grey, sticky, dense, extremely plastic (feels like silly putty), slow drying, hard and cracks like crazy. Oh and a little research on local geology says that bentonite and ball deposits cover my area 🙄 The Karankawa used it, so it is useable.
As mentioned in this video, adding temper will reduce stickiness, your clay may need a whole lot to be workable.
I am moving from an area of lots of ‘temper’ sand to an area of total clay. Hopefully put your guidance to good use👍
Sounds like a good trade-off. I hope you find the clay you want in your new location.
Thank you for this video. The timing is perfect for me (it's a year old, but was just recommended to me) -- I just harvested and wet- processed my first wild clay, which I harvested from our yard when my husband was digging a ditch. I am very impressed with the plasticity and texture of it so far; it took almost 3 weeks in the pillow case to dry to the point that I could knead it and add temper (crushed beige bricks). Our climate in Appalachia is so much wetter than where you are!
At any rate, now I know how to test it and what to look for. Thank you!!
Now I am off to watch your video on making scrapers from gourds, which we have many of. :)
Awesome, I am glad you found me
@@AncientPottery So am I!
I really like your videos. They are so inspiring that I feel like going out and finding my source of clay. Big thanks.
That’s great. You should try it.
I love your channel so much....your videos getting better and better....
Thank you so much!!
Thanks Andy! As always very pleasent to watch
You’re welcome
Just found your channel today...
I am enjoying your process...
When I need to find clay...
I walk to the nearest spot in my yard where the grass doesn't want to grow.
Our subsoil is the heavy red clay of Oklahoma .
LOL, I know about that, I lived 4 years in Oklahoma. Thanks for watching my videos.
Great video Andy!
Appreciate it
Just stumbled on your page the other day, I already refined my own clay from a good source I found on my property and am planning on building a brick kiln. I also enjoy primitive cooking techniques and wondered if you could forsee any issues using the kiln for baking as well?
Yes, I think the kiln could be used for baking, it will certainly hold onto the heat for many hours after a pottery firing.
Fascinating and useful as always, Andy. This gives me the courage to give some clay I'd rejected previously as being too sticky another try -- I had no temper in it. Speaking of temper, does the size of the temper particles make a difference? I have access near me to some powdery volcanic ash, and a deposit of diatomite. I'm curious about how either one would work for temper as opposed to sand, particularly at different temperatures. Now I'm feeling "temper-amental!"
Volcanic ash and diatomite make great temper materials. Sand is convenient but not the best. Watch my video about temper to learn more about it th-cam.com/video/uZZdLLCO8Iw/w-d-xo.html
fantastic videos! thanks for the info. I'm going to test the clay I've been digging up for years.
Excellent. Thank you.
You are so welcome
The flowering cactus caught my attention. In the 1978 movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" i am pretty sure they used some of those cacti in some scenes.
Interesting, I have never seen that movie.
What happens to organic tempers like manure and feathers? Do they burn out during firing?
Yes, they leave voids in the pottery. Pottery made like that are more porous and weaker.
Thank you for bringing me into your world. I’m fascinated.
Glad to offer you some new ideas, please keep watching.
Sigh, I can't believe that I forget so much. This video covers everything I was wondering about. I've obviously seen it before. I'll have to try to vinegar test though. Your videos are so good. They make me believe I can do it. 😃
You can do it, stay on it.
You should come down here to South Louisiana if you just start digging in the ground you find clay it's everywhere big old huge chunks of it, massive amounts of this dark brownish grey clay
Oh I know about that. I used to live in Denham Springs.
Wild clay pottery isn't really known in England (these days) so it's hard to find information on. I have collected some clay and look forward to firing some. These videos are extremely helpful in guiding me in the right direction, Thank you.
I'm so glad to be of help to my British friends. I am mostly of English ancestry, so would LOVE to teach a class there some day.
@@AncientPottery if you ever teach a class here I'd love to come. I'm based in North Yorkshire or the Lake District usually. Great places to visit with fascinating history & stunning scenery, lots of public records if you want to do some family history research too.
Love your videos Andy..fun video...I am from Saskatchewan Canada and we have some fantastic clay sources ...I am just getting started in pottery and want to do exactly what you do
. Thanks
Glad to hear it. Thanks for watching, I can't wait to hear what you create with your Saskatchewan clay.
I was driving home yesterday and spotted a vertical exposed clay bank on a river close to my home...it is surprising what a person can drive by for years and not pay attention to or to realize the potential of what they are looking at.
I went back and chipped about 45 lbs of frozen lumps from the bank.
Processed and sieved it last night and it is hanging in a pillow case dripping...it is cool in my garage so it may take several days to dry out.
Another learned lesson. Thank you! That helps me a lot!
Love the videos! VERY informative. I have a question though - is the temper added just for clay that will be worked by hand or wheel? I have some clay given to me and I've studied up a little on making slip from it with specific gravity and flocculant (sodium silicate) and hadn't heard of the temper being added.
No, you won't need to add temper to clay that you will be using as a slip.
I haven’t found anyone addressing the finding of wet clay. I believe I’ve found and harvested some where a mountain stream enters the ocean at low tide.
People who live in a moist climate find wet clay all the time. I however live in Arizona so I only find dry clay unless it has rained recently.
Boy, I love this channel.
Thanks
Does the corn grinder you're using have stone or steel wheels?
I just started learning pottery, and I'm very interested in the most natural, historic processes.
Your videos are truly gems.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks, the grinding surface on this grinder is steel.
@AncientPottery
Thanks so much, and I've become addicted to your videos.
They're a wealth if information to this guy that's new to historic pottery.
Great video Andy, thanks. This is the advice that I've been searching for. I'm near San Diego and have been wanting to try making some clay pottery for the fun of it. I can already tell I'll be watching quite a few of your videos.
Is there a difference in the types of temper? Sand, fired clay, ground up rock even? Maybe a video on this topic. Cheers.
Yes. Check out this video all about temper. th-cam.com/video/UzkZ1EpLXxs/w-d-xo.html
@@AncientPottery thank you. Does this video talk about different types of temper though? I know about using fired clay but was wondering if in ancient pottery they used different things like sand, rocks etc?
@@roostermcblurter Yes, this video talks about different types of temper and their pros and cons. Different cultures in the prehistoric SW used different things. Ground stone, sand, grog, volcanic ash, etc. Tribes in the east sometimes used ground seashells.
Thank you this is great !
Glad you enjoyed it.
thank you so much I was looking so long to find such an important knowledg. Im from Israel. we have a lot of lime ston. I have been using as clay the pouder white soil from a limestone cave and wandering about it... any way Im prepering to see the video in your site and more tha happy to pay the price for it. thank you!!
Glad it was helpful! Avoid that limestone in your clay, it can cause serious problems, sometimes years after the pot is made.
@@AncientPottery thank you for you answer. I will look for a netter clay...
Hi Andy. I have been testing my clay to see how much temper I need. Are cracks in the coil ok so long as it doesn't break or should I keep adding sand?
Yes some cracks in the coil are okay as long as it doesn't break easily. Your biggest determinator of tempering is whether you have trouble with drying cracks or breakage in the firing.
Great video Andy.
I'd like to ask you what main difference do you find in using organic temper like manure or mineral temper like sand. I'm interested in knowing the effect of organic temper in thermal shock. Thank you.
I have never actually used organic temper so can't answer this question. It is worthy of study though.
i think i found a source of wild clay today so i'm excited to test it out
Awesome
Nice job always interesting and useful.
Thanks Wes
Have you ever been to Wisconsin's south shore of Lake Superior, I found beautiful red clay there. And wondering how it will work for pottery.
No, I never have, but give it a try and see how it goes.
Hi Andy, GREAT channel!!! What is the acceptable range for shrinkage?
Maybe anything under 15%, but a lot of this is subjective.
I'm gonna have to try this, since I've found that my yard is loaded with a near solid layer of clay about 2 feet down.
Awesome, how convenient.
Brilliant Pottery Educator
Thank you
Very, very interesting. I really enjoy your show and information!
Thank you so much. Keep watching
This is a fantastic channel!!
Thanks
Nice, interesting and inspiring video as always on your channel!
Thank you very much!
Found your channel by accident and have been watching it almost daily and now I want to get into pottery making at home lol. Did your friend really make you a map or did you use gps? 😂
He actually gave me verbal directions, I drew the map as a prop to use in the video. I did not need to use GPS to find it because I was already familiar with the general area it was in. Thanks for watching.
Another great video Andy thank you! So far my son and I have been using wet clay that we find lining a creek bottom. We are not drying it but do add some temper in the form of ground oyster shell...Is there an issue with using wet clay without drying it and processing it to dust first that I haven't encountered yet? Thanks again! PS we are in NE Ohio if that tells you anything else you need to know about our clay specifically.
No problem at all, but our clay in Arizona almost always comes dry. If the clay doesn't have a lot of junk in it such as rocks or roots then you could just add some grit and use it as is.
@@AncientPottery thank you sir!
Wow that’s very informative for the beginners who love clay
Thanks, that is my goal in making these videos.
Can you explain the temper a bit more and the different options?
Temper is non-plastic material added to the clay. More information here th-cam.com/video/uZZdLLCO8Iw/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Did you also clean the wild sad you used? I'm up in the Canadian prairies and the soil is mostly sand based, but it's very fine sand. Does it need to be quite course to be good temper?
There's hidden jems in your videos, this one has several. :-D I do have a question. At the end you mention that your shrinkage was 6%. I'm guessing that is okay. What is optimal? What is okay?
Oh and I want to thank you. To me the measure of how good a channel is measured in how responsive the person is. You rate way up there. I like that I feel there is someone on the other end. So yeah, thanks.
Thanks! 6% is pretty good up to about 12 is probably acceptable. After that it gets frustrating to see your pot get way smaller than you made it, also it becomes harder to prevent cracking as it dries.
Looks like a fun day, Andy! Great video :)
Thanks! 😃
Hello Andy, Ive finally got myself settled in and my work area about ready so I can start makin primitive pottery again, I've got a spot that produces some super pure blue clay, Im going to be testing it very soon, if thi stuff works well, Id be willing to send you some of it to evaluate and use just for the fun of it. I'm not sure how many regions you have used wild clay from. However if you are interested, after I go and harvest some and if I deem it worthy enough, I'd be happy to send you some from the East coast of Michigan, we have great pure clay left behind from the glaciers in my area.
Oh this must be Jim. Hey man, I can't wait to see what you make.
@@AncientPottery Yes it is Andy, video is still in progress....i will keep you posted.
I have been enjoying your videos. You showed how to measure shrinkage in this video. What be an expectable range for shrinkage?
I don't know if I could set a number as to what is unacceptable. A lot would be up to the individual potter and what they are willing to tolerate. High shrinkage is annoying as your pots end up much smaller than you built them, and it can cause cracks as the pot dries. I think knowing the shrinkage rate of a clay is not so much to know how usable it is, but to know how big a pot needs to be made to be at the desired size when finished.
@@AncientPottery Thanks! That makes sense.
Andy I have a ? I think you could answer. I found what I think are pottery sherds in a parking lot in the ancient city of Corinth, Greece. They were being used as fill so I don't think I disturbed an excavation site. They appear to have been worked and fired from their texture. Is there a way to determine if they are in fact pottery sherds? Well done videos.
That's cool. I don't know, maybe you can ask an archaeologist
@@AncientPottery Andy, I'll check that out. Also, I'm on the look out for natural clay here in Missouri. Great videos.
This is a great video, Andy
Thanks for the visit
Thanks for all you do!! You mentioned that sometimes you feel grit in the clay, but you didn't say what to do about it. My grandsons and I wet processed some wild clay and it feels a bit gritty. What should we do?
Thank you so much for this video, I appreciate it! I have a case I wanna present to you. So I live in the Netherlands, in a region that used to be meters underwater. There is a lot of blue shell clay underneath our soil, which I really want to make something with. In your video you said that shell (calcium) can cause trouble. My question is can I work with this or is it a dead cause?
Also: I'd like to learn about the wet method to process wild clay, since I live a very wet climate.
Lots of Native American cultures tempered their pottery with shells. Just keep the firing temperature below about 820 C and you will be fine.
Thank you
I'm new to the clay game, and one thing that I've always been curious about is how silt affects the "temperament" of the clay. I've always been told that sand is good for tempering clay for ceramic firing purposes, and silt is good for making slurry "cement" for flood ditches and french drains. So how _does_ silt affect clay? Can it be used as a temper? And if so, how much of it should I use?
Sorry, I have no experience with silt in my clay
Wow - what a wonderful video!
Thank you
Hi Andy, I just start with (wild)potery, and dug my firts blue/gray clay from a drying lake next door today, I will test that all! But just to understand,11:05 what is wrong with calcium in the clay? In your exemple, it does fizzes: does it mean you wont use it? I am amazed by your work and knowledge
I should do a whole video about calcium carbonate. When it gets hot in the firing it changes chemically into "quick lime" which can sit in your pot for perhaps years. The problem comes when quick lime gets wet, and that can come from putting liquid in the pot, washing the pot with a damp rag or even from humidity in the atmosphere, then the quick lime will expand, blowing off little bits or spalls on your pot. You may want to find a different clay or maybe just take your chances since you are just learning. But now you know what to expect.
@@AncientPottery Thank you for your answer! Is that why in one of your other video you speak about making a watter test? your videos gave me the courage to start, i am very greatfull and excited
Very good and efficient 👍🏽video
Glad you think so!
Excelente video.
Thank you
Hi, Andy. I have a large amount of black sand mixed with the sand in my arroyo. I collect it with a magnet. Is there any use for this in pottery? Perhaps tempering or for paint, somehow. Thanks, Michael
It is my understanding that black sand is magnetite. It should work for temper, I have heard of people trying it for paint but I am not sure how well that works or not.
Hello Andy! I wanted to buy some sand from a building supply store that said it had quartz in it. Is that good to mix in with the clay or should I look for something else? Thanks in advance!
Quartz will not be a problem, many of the native groups in the Southwest used quartz sand temper.
Thanks for this lesson.
My pleasure!
I love your videos! Thank you so much! Greetings from Germany.
Thanks
What happened to the pot when you did the test fire? was the clay good?
Yes it worked great thanks
Hey there Andy, I need to be able to fire to cone 10 for frost protection making pots for plants/trees, how do you go about testing wild clays for how high they can reliably be fired to?
Great question. It would make a good video but requires a kiln which I don't have. Make a test tile from the new clay, place it in a dish or something from a different clay that you know can fire to cone 10 or whatever you want. Then fire to a low temp, if it survives then fire hotter. Keep firing hotter and hotter until you either reach your desired temperature and it survives or you discover at what temperature the clay melts.
I have a pile of wild clay here from when we had to have some digging done. It seems to pass the initial tests appearance wise. I am wondering about using manure as temper. Would that be added at the same rate as sand?
I’ve actually never tried manure, but I would assume the rate would be roughly the same. Make sure it is finely ground up before you add it to your clay
@@AncientPottery Thanks, will do!
Hello, how are you, a question please, I found clay in the woods that has 3 colors, orange, yellow and gray, is it good to work? Thank you for the information you provide. It is very helpful.
I have seen clay like that with different colors. Give it a try, you can't judge clay by the color.
@@AncientPottery Thank you for the reply, I'll try it 😊
I found a vein of really funky smelling creek clay, pretty pure and plastic tho. White clay is hard to find where I live
White clay is hard to find most places.
Good video, this a very important subject, I think , since without good clay their is no good pottery, THANKS Andy on the money with this one
Thanks Rob. I’m working hard to tell the story, I appreciate your support and encouragement.
@@AncientPottery you're doing a great job keep it up.
Is there a chance to see if the clay is able to fire in high temperatures, or basically to determine if the clay is maby suitable for a specific Cone (5 or 6 for instance) before firing? I assume there is just testing and hoping for the best, not to have a huge mess in your kiln if it was a little too hot.
Have you had any experience with wild clay from the South East US and if so what are your thoughts on it (ease of use for beginners) ? In GA we have Red Clay right below our topsoil layer. Thanks
I have a lot of students who use clay from that part of the world to good success. But I don't have any personal experience with it.
I purified a red clay source.
Let it dry.
Ground it into powder and made oil-based clay with wax.
The plan is to use it for molding to cast in plastic pieces.
Sulfur is known to not react accordingly with silicone.
Does Sulfur naturally occur in wild clay?
If so...how do I get rid of it?
No idea. You would probably need too have it tested to know if there was sulphur in the clay.
Sorry for the rando comment, but since I'm here, I tried the coffee bean oil sealing method over the weekend. Somewhat viable, but you'd need to do several treatments. Also tried coconut oil, which was definitely a one shot process with some rolling as you check periodically. Really excellent penetrative soak that lasts and lasts. Whenever it stops raining I'll try honey next (outside in case it smokes).
Also sent you an informational email with photos last week. Not sure if it ended up in your spam bin, but just in case...
I've tried using wild clay from the Columbia River. Dug it out wet (light gray in color) and used burned and crushed shell (wanted to be similar to Mississipppian Culture pottery) as temper. Found that it was VERY sticky, cracked excessively in drying and was very hard to wrap around my finger when I tried that test. Do you ever use 'wet' clay straight from a river?
All clay is different. Some clays are hard to impossible to work with and others are a dream. The clay you describe sounds difficult.
Hi
I live in Central chile. Landscape is either flat as a pancake or a mountain.. any ideas? I'll try the river bed again..
thankyou
You're welcome!
Is Earthenware simply just pottery? Or is there a special process for Earthenware that makes it usable for open flame cooking?
It has to do with the temperature out is fired at. Earthenware is fired at the lowest temperature and creates relatively soft, slightly porous pottery.
I went to a river bank (Norther Texas) and got what first looked like gray stone. But then realized it might be clay. Ive never seen gray clay before. Does clay ever come gray?
Yes, grey clay is not uncommon, it comes in many different colors.
Hi Andy, I found your channel while doing a project for college where I harvested clay from my back yard dirt. After refining it and allowing the product to convalesce I noticed that the inside of my clay ball smells really bad, almost like waste (read poop). Is it normal for clay to develop an excrement like smell in the center? The outside of the ball, the drier portions, has no bad smell at all and instead just smells like dirt. Thanks for the great content!
Some clays will do that if they have a lot of organic matter. It is best to mix these clays dry and use quickly to keep the smell from developing. Or find another clay.
@@AncientPottery thanks for responding, and the advice!
I wonder, what is the acceptable shrinkage rate percentage range?
He is so cool , like the amish version of MAT DAMON
hi andy, love your channel.
may be a silly question but
for the shrinkage rate,
((wet length - dry length)
divided by wet length x100
the dash in the formula, is it to be
(( wet length + dry length)/ by wet x100
or ((wet length minus dry length) x100
thanks in advance
wet minus dry, you need to determine the difference between those two measurements and the wet is the larger number so wet minus dry length
Does levagateing make a clay source better to use at all or is it just for getting rocks n stuff out. Does the color of the clay tell you anything ?
Can a clay be to fine.
I think I just need to go test them all out and find what works with what I got.
Levigating can remove most of the non-plastic material, thereby making the clay more plastic. Color means very little. All clay needs some temper, whether that be naturally occurring or added, too pure results in drying cracks.
Such a great channel
Thanks