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aging clay: when does it start

updated thu 20 mar 03

 

May Luk on wed 19 mar 03


Scenario 1:
Mixed dry ingredients from a clay recipe; sieved; left on plaster bat;
forgotten to wedge; dried to a cake; put back in water; still soaking.

Scenario 2;
Bits and pieces of leather hard leftover slabs, some left over slip-all in a
covered bucket waiting to be dealt with.

Scenario 3;
Dried up clay that was too hard to wedge; left in a lidded bucket with water
to soak.

All these slightly smelly buckets all have mould at one time or another.
Does any of these situations contribute to the aging/souring process? Are
they just neglected clay?

T.I.A.
May

Vince Pitelka on wed 19 mar 03


> All these slightly smelly buckets all have mould at one time or another.
> Does any of these situations contribute to the aging/souring process? Are
> they just neglected clay?

May -
When the clay dries out completely, the organic activity stops, but all the
little dried up dead bodies of microorganisms are still there, and they
provide nourishment for quick new organic growth. So recycled clay ages
faster than new clay. Also, new clay mixed from dry materials contains just
enough water to bring it to plastic consistency, and that level of water
content is not particularly conducive to quick organic growth. Recycled
clay is generally slaked down to slurry, and that thoroughly wets all the
particles, already making a more plastic claybody, and encouraging faster
organic growth.

Remember, scientists recently proved that the origins of life were in a
clay-based primordial ooze, rather than in a liquid primordial soup. Clay
is an ideal medium for organic activity, but them little bugs need food.
Best wishes -
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/