stephani stephenson on tue 20 mar 07
mel, about the 3 year old stuff and the year old stuff
and even the 6 month stuff
i agree..and i think Dr. Carty wasn't sure he would
convince ANY potter!
but it is interesting to think about why you feel it
is better and i love knocking that up against the
science...much of the time they agree
knowledge, intricate knowledge in the hands, yet
occasionally good to see it from a perspective , a
different perspective and challenge it, even if you
believe, you know, you always learn from it!
but it DOES make me curious as to what it is!!!
Steph
oops ,library is closing....
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mel jacobson on tue 20 mar 07
there was a sort of saying in japan.
age the clay for a week, and that is it. good enough.
unless you age it for a year, then it really gets good.
and then some age it for 50 years...and that stuff
is golden.
i do believe that there is truth in that statement.
a week is just fine for most work.
it then takes a lot longer for the really fine work
of aging to take place.
that seems to have some scientific basis.
most of the wetting and aging takes place
pretty fast...but the subtle, real aging
takes a very long time. so, not much difference
in my clay from a week, to four weeks. just clay for
throwing. the only thing i throw with new made clay
is platters...they don't care.
but, the three year old stuff is wonderful to work with.
you sure can tell the difference.
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Lee Love on wed 21 mar 07
My Mashiko clay comes from a quarry 15 minutes away. It is dug out
of a pond, where it has been for years. It is made into a slip,
passed it through screens to get the rocks and big organic chunks out
and then air dried to be stiff enough for the pugmill. It is then
pugged and bagged. It is never dried or air floated.
It is "alive", but it is not anything anybody would call great
clay. Pretty sandy because it is in a seam between layers of sand.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." -
Henry David Thoreau
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
Chris Trabka on wed 21 mar 07
Mel,
Two years ago I pugged some reclaimed clay. One box was dated 1999.
It was the easiest throwing clay I ever used. The forms seemed to spring to
life by themselves.
I let the clay I get from Contental sit for a full year before it is used.
I have to slap it around to get its attention before I start throwing.
Afterwards it listens to the hands very well.
Chris
Marcia Selsor on wed 21 mar 07
I missed the panel and so much else.
I always thought the best made clay came from slaking down to a slip
and let it evaporate to ready consistency.
That is how the potters in Spain made their clay as well as most
mediterranean Potters. They have a big vat. After slaking, a
claymixer (person) agitates with a board for hours and then drains
the slip into another vat and it starts to dry. Half way through half
of the clay is spread onto a brick patio and dries more quickly and
the other half is covered to dry slowly. This is done twice/month.
Very nice clay.
When I was living in upstate NY I mixed slip and poured into about
20-30 flower pots. The porrousity of the pots dried the clay. It was
a primitive but effective system.
And made good plastic clay. So are the mythbusters saying it is all
in my head?
Too bad about the Porcelain myth- aged for one hundred years. All the
romance is gone!
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
On Mar 20, 2007, at 11:00 PM, Lee Love wrote:
> My Mashiko clay comes from a quarry 15 minutes away. It is dug out
> of a pond, where it has been for years. It is made into a slip,
> passed it through screens to get the rocks and big organic chunks out
> and then air dried to be stiff enough for the pugmill. It is then
> pugged and bagged. It is never dried or air floated.
>
> It is "alive", but it is not anything anybody would call great
> clay. Pretty sandy because it is in a seam between layers of sand.
>
> --
> Lee in Mashiko, Japan
> Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
> http://potters.blogspot.com/
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