Rick Hamelin on mon 27 jun 05
Hello
After giving a pottery demonstration, I learned of late 19th brickyard. The product was a Golden's mustard yellow hard brick, which, while looking quite similar to New Jersey Stoneware, is called by the town's natives, "Yellow Kaolin". The claypit is bedsheet white and was strikingly visible as the sun lit it up. The name of the road is Kaolin Road. The mineral is a clay and rock mixture. (It was said that Hungarians were brought in to mine it). I did not go down into the ravine as I was wearing shorts, with sandals, on a 90 degree day and I feared poison ivy would soon find me. But I know that this clay with aggregrate is sufficiently plastic to hold together in the pressed box mold as the locals presented me with the gift of a brick. (Put me into heaven, I tell ya!) I am in a red earthenware clay state, Massachusetts. I do know of two other kaolin pits in New England, in Vermont and Ct. On the longetitudal line, the sources line up.
Have any of you heard of a yellow, plastic kaolin? I suspect that this is a secondary kaolin, relocated either by glacier or a former river, but it is "smashed" on the hillside and continues down into a ravine, from what was distantly visible to me. Any thoughts are seriously appreciated.
Rick
--
"Many a wiser men than I hath
gone to pot." 1649
Rick Hamelin on mon 27 jun 05
I meant Gulden's mustard
--
"Many a wiser men than I hath
gone to pot." 1649
Marcia Selsor on mon 27 jun 05
Dear Rick,
In Montana we have lots of varied colored kaolins..some yellow, pink,
gray. They have not been mined. They are on BLM land. I have tested
some of them. There are also stoneware clays. One in particular is at
the dump in Lewistown. It is a pinkish gray. Thirty years ago, I had
a small grant to research the local clays of Montana. There are many.
There have been brick companies here in the past.
Best wishes,
marcia selsor
On Jun 27, 2005, at 7:43 AM, Rick Hamelin wrote:
> Hello
> After giving a pottery demonstration, I learned of late 19th
> brickyard. The product was a Golden's mustard yellow hard brick,
> which, while looking quite similar to New Jersey Stoneware, is
> called by the town's natives, "Yellow Kaolin". The claypit is
> bedsheet white and was strikingly visible as the sun lit it up. The
> name of the road is Kaolin Road. The mineral is a clay and rock
> mixture. (It was said that Hungarians were brought in to mine it).
> I did not go down into the ravine as I was wearing shorts, with
> sandals, on a 90 degree day and I feared poison ivy would soon find
> me. But I know that this clay with aggregrate is sufficiently
> plastic to hold together in the pressed box mold as the locals
> presented me with the gift of a brick. (Put me into heaven, I tell
> ya!) I am in a red earthenware clay state, Massachusetts. I do know
> of two other kaolin pits in New England, in Vermont and Ct. On the
> longetitudal line, the sources line up.
> Have any of you heard of a yellow, plastic kaolin? I suspect that
> this is a secondary kaolin, relocated either by glacier or a former
> river, but it is "smashed" on the hillside and continues down into
> a ravine, from what was distantly visible to me. Any thoughts are
> seriously appreciated.
> Rick
> --
> "Many a wiser men than I hath
> gone to pot." 1649
Rick Hamelin on mon 27 jun 05
Hi Marcia
I appreciate that you took the time for giving me this information. I am unsure if the colors that you describe are for the raw clay or the fired clay. If I assume that that you are referring to the raw clay (redundant) I must reitterate that this pit is bed sheet white and it fires Gulden's Mustard yellow. No pyrites either. I was thinking that this could be a stoneware pit too. Massachusetts is the land of redware and red bricks. This pit is a freak. Your work sounds fascinating. I wished that I could sit with you and learn about your neck of the woods.
Thanks again
Rick
--
"Many a wiser men than I hath
gone to pot." 1649
-------------- Original message --------------
Marcia Selsor on mon 27 jun 05
Yes, these colored clays fire white. Your find seems very interesting
that it is white and fires yellow.
Marcia
On Jun 27, 2005, at 11:49 AM, Rick Hamelin wrote:
> Hi Marcia
> I appreciate that you took the time for giving me this information.
> I am unsure if the colors that you describe are for the raw clay or
> the fired clay. If I assume that that you are referring to the raw
> clay (redundant) I must reitterate that this pit is bed sheet white
> and it fires Gulden's Mustard yellow. No pyrites either. I was
> thinking that this could be a stoneware pit too. Massachusetts is
> the land of redware and red bricks. This pit is a freak. Your work
> sounds fascinating. I wished that I could sit with you and learn
> about your neck of the woods.
> Thanks again
> Rick
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