Job With Dampish Pottery Clay
Working with moist clay is a satisfying Issue that comes from hand-building a portion, sculpturing a articulation, or throwing on a trundle. Clay comes humid, normally in 10 lb. bags, and in a incongruity of textures. Textures scale from porcelain clay, which is smooth cognate butter to coarse, which is heavily grogged (crushed fired clay in distinctive sizes). The clay is only ready for use after it is well processed.4. Form in a round ball. You are now ready to roll out your clay, if you are hand-building or using a mold.
Instructions
1. Place the clay on a covered board. This helps soak up the excess water as you work with the moist clay. When you first take your clay out of a newly purchased package, it will be moist and ready to work with without adding any moisture. If it has been sitting for a long time on a store shelf, you might need to moisten the clay.
2. Condition the clay--also known as kneading the clay. The purpose of kneading is to spread the clay minerals, making it more malleable, adding water if needed, and expelling air bubbles. Cut the clay in half and place it on top of each other. Begin to knead it (just like kneading bread), turning the clay as you knead.
3. Cut the clay in half again, and knead again. You need to do this about 20 times or more. The clay is ready when it is smooth and all the air bubbles are gone. In that clay was not fabricated to be worked for a great room of age, you Testament require to detain it dank while working it. For the light clay shapes, model petite Accoutrement is needed. For extra labyrinthine pieces, you Testament demand extended elaborate Accoutrement alike a pottery spin or slab curler. Here are some recommendations for working with this medium.
Place the clay between two pieces of wood and roll it out with a rolling pin.
