Drying clay

[Chris Campbell]

Drying clay is not straight forward .... as always with clay ... It all depends.

 

Variables include the clay body itself, the thickness of the clay, how wet it got in process, the humidity around you.

Just because it dried in two days last week does not mean it will dry in the same time this week.

One clay body can dry under a fan or in the bright sunlight while another needs to be slowed down with plastic wraps.

Slow ... slow can be hours, days or weeks. One porcelain potter I know takes a month to dry his large bowls.

My complex colored pieces can dry in a day, week or month depending on how they were assembled.

I dry my tiles in an hour while other potters dry them for days.

 

So drying at the right speed for your clay and your work is a skill you have to learn by experience. You get to know when it feels right ... watch the edges for clues ... uncover or cover .... experiment so you get to know your clay. Know when you can rush it and when you cannot. If you have put ten hours into decorating a piece, don't lose it all by drying quickly because you want to see it or deliver it somewhere.

 

How slow is slow enough? ... you are going at the right pace if the whole piece is drying evenly. If your edges are drying too fast, cover them so the center can catch up. If thin parts are drying before thick, cover the whole piece so it can even out.

 

This is another good reason to limit the kinds of clay you use ... Learning one body is a lot easier than trying to figure out three.

[Dinah]

Drying clay which has been thrown or formed is tricky. Block drafts, arrange a bit of a plastic cover over your ware trolley and nip it closed with clothes pins, etc. to make an enclosed atmospheric tent if you're firing kiln in room. Turn pieces over at regular intervals, be careful how you handle them, and use another cleaned off throwing batt to cover rim if you're going to flip it over. I think the best advice is to try to anticipate any problems by the actions you wish to implement. What would happen if I were to put this damp pot into the kiln? Whoa! It will blow because.... You find the answer, if you don't know it. Second Law of Thermodynamics: Every action has a reaction. Some of you have not had an extensive education in this realm. No use in getting upset or spiteful, just be careful and THINK AHEAD to the best of your abilities. Ask questions on this forum. There's no such thing as a stupid question.

[Denice]

Those who live in humid areas know that the humidity levels in your area can make a huge difference in your drying routine. My last studio was in a very damp basement, it was so damp it had a stream running through it when we bought the house. We got rid of the stream through landscaping but the basement was still damp, I never had to cover pieces very well while I was working on them but had to carry them upstairs to get them to completely dry. New house and new studio and I had to learn how to dry my work in a dry atmosphere, I found a plastic utility cabinet that was vented and has been a great drying cabinet. Denice

[lynny]

drying times do vary so much with every day, type of clay, style of form etc and a watchful eye is the best answer

I love using the 'shower caps' you get in motels, always bring them home for the studio. The elastic fits around small forms and creates a mini 'tent'.

[Pres]

Drying clay is not straight forward .... as always with clay ... It all depends.

 

Variables include the clay body itself, the thickness of the clay, how wet it got in process, the humidity around you.

Just because it dried in two days last week does not mean it will dry in the same time this week.

One clay body can dry under a fan or in the bright sunlight while another needs to be slowed down with plastic wraps.

Slow ... slow can be hours, days or weeks. One porcelain potter I know takes a month to dry his large bowls.

My complex colored pieces can dry in a day, week or month depending on how they were assembled.

I dry my tiles in an hour while other potters dry them for days.

 

So drying at the right speed for your clay and your work is a skill you have to learn by experience. You get to know when it feels right ... watch the edges for clues ... uncover or cover .... experiment so you get to know your clay. Know when you can rush it and when you cannot. If you have put ten hours into decorating a piece, don't lose it all by drying quickly because you want to see it or deliver it somewhere.

 

How slow is slow enough? ... you are going at the right pace if the whole piece is drying evenly. If your edges are drying too fast, cover them so the center can catch up. If thin parts are drying before thick, cover the whole piece so it can even out.

 

This is another good reason to limit the kinds of clay you use ... Learning one body is a lot easier than trying to figure out three.

 

 

I find that my drying time is controlled by one factor that I can't control-atmospheric environment. If its raining outside, my shop air is wet, so my pots dry very slow. Dry outside, my pots dry fast. I do the usual when working with this-lots of plastic bags to put bats full of pots in, or put over pots and tuck in at the bottom. I also do a lot of turning to dry things evenly-mugs get thrown and put on the bat upright-then turned over when the rims are leather hard as this balances the drying. Same with much larger thrown pots I wait until the lip neck and shoulders are cheese hard, and then turn them upside down to dry some more-covered. All of this is done usually over a week if, the atmosphere is dry enough to dry things, if it is rainy, then pots get uncovered. Hand built thrown combinations are a very different story as there is usually more variety of thickness in the ware as with just a thrown pot-these I try to dry over a two week period.

[Denice]

Lynny Those shower caps are a great idea, I'm big on the reuse and recycle everything I can. I rinse out the gal size Ziplock bags after I have used them in the kitchen and then use them in my studio for small work and bits and pieces while I am working with them. Denice

[~janie]

If you turn the zip loc bags inside out, they will stand open nicely over your work. I always used them thus in my plant propagation endeavors, and found them valuable in my clay work as well.

[Diana Ferreira]

my black clay will stay soft & wet in a plaster mold for up to 24 hours. I discovered that it can tolerate a lot of abuse (heat & wind) and now I use a hairdryer on full heat to release them. To prevent warping, I use spann rings to rest the pieces on while drying, In the current heat wave I have been putting work that was casted the same day into a bisque kiln. I do work very thin, just slightly thicker than porcelain.