Derek Olive Posted June 7, 2019 Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 I have been working with some local clay in the last while, long story really, but it is an amazing colour, yellow when you fire it! There have been a few different potters who have passed through that have worked with it up here but on and off. It is not easy to work with, very soft no matter how much water you pull out of it. We have tried it pure and also straining it, drying it, then adding china clay and silica. I recently had the chance to get some really clean, pure clay from at least 12 feet under ground that I am working on at the moment. I'm no potter, I'm the school nurse who happens to be able to teach the kids some pottery as well. To process it I tried watering it down, the putting it through a fine mesh, then letting it settle, but it doesn't settle! I have left it for 2 weeks and the clay never settles to the bottom. In the end I put it in some plaster baths we have and that works, but it is a tone of work. I was thinking of putting it into the pug mill because the batch I have now is from so far down that there are no stones or other impurities in it really but I'm afraid to damage the mill. would extremely tiny rocks really damage the pug mill? Wedging enough of this clay for the students is probably more energy than I can put into it on a regualar basis. Thoughts? I have just made some slips with the clay as well that I will test in the next few weeks to see what I can use this clay for. In terms of firing it is done at 03-04. The high fire tests the clay just melted. Below are two pictures, one of the clay bisqued to 03 in an electric kiln. The other is a plate I made with a clear glaze over top. The plate I have had for about 10 years now ! Any general thoughts, inspiration or encouragement would be welcome as I'm pretty much alone working on this. Has anyone else seen clay like this? Thanks Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeU Posted June 7, 2019 Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 That's a dynamite color! All I can offer is encouragement--I think what you're doing is rather exciting. Others will be more knowledgible about native clays and the innards of pug mills! Welcome to the forums! Do you know anything about the geology of the region it is found in-what it is comprised of etc? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted June 7, 2019 Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 From the location by your avatar it looks like you are in northern Quebec. Like Lee said if you pull up geological survey maps from the area they will give you an idea of what you're working with. How much force does it take to crush the tiny rocks that are left after screening the clay? If they are hard like granite then I definitely wouldn't be putting them through the pugger. Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Olive Posted June 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Thanks for the replies! I haven't looked at the geological data yet, when I have a chance I will, good idea thanks Lee. Min I haven't tried to crush the little stones but I will the next time I make a batch. Out of almost 40 pounds of clay I screened out maybe 5-6 tiny stones, so much work for clay that is already almost pure! I'm off now to test my glaze what I mixed in some of this clay with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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