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Fiber clay question: I am adept at making paper clay. But while in the UK this fall, I fell in love with Scarva Flax Clays. I can't seem to locate Scarva or flax fiber suppliers here in the US. Even if I did find flax to make my own (I've seen some for fabric/yarn producers) I wouldn't know what kind to get. Anyone have an insight on this? Thanks!

Hello, I am trying to build ceramic baskets using extremely fine coils of porcelain, and wanted to try making porcelain paper clay so that I can work as fine as I would like to. I am wondering where I can find the best recipe to make it, and what paper pulp I should use. Would it also be beneficial for me to add porcelain grog/molochite to the mix? Many thanks!

Hi, I am working on a large scale sculpture about 5 feet tall and 31/2 feet wide. I will not be firing this piece ; will be air dried only. The life of the sculpture is expected to stay only for about 1.5 months I considered Laguna paper clay but availability and timing is an issue. I have WED (Walt Disney modeling clay - wet) with me that I thought would use for this project initially. Reading lots of posts about making your own paper clay and the advantage of green strength by using paper I am inspired to try making paper clay. I have green blow in cellulose from Lowe’s that I want to use instead of bath tissue or newspaper. My local ceramic distributor has OM-4 ball clay in powder format and can provide stoneware clay in dry powder format. I would like to get some advice on if one of these clays are better than the other. And any advice on how much cellulose / fiber should be added to the clay. I plan to rent a cement mixer to combine the clay and fiber. I plan to use the pillow case to filter / drain the water out. Is a plaster bat also required to get the clay workable consistency for handbuilding? Any additional inputs are welcome. Thank you in advance for reading my query and offering your help. regards, GR

Hi everyone, I'd like to make my own paper clay and have read several recipes but I'd like to hear from anyone who has actually made it. What's the best type of paper to use and why? Thank you.

I have a bisque fired ceramic with a large crack in it and have heard many times that 'Paper Clay' is the answer - slip/clay + magic water + toilet paper (c. 30%). I've looked all over but can't seem to find the answer to what state the clay should be in when making the paper clay for a bisque fired piece. One article suggested I needed to bisque fire a piece of the same clay, then grind it down into a powder and then mix/blend it with the paper and magic water. But most articles don't mention the bisque firing part. Do I need to bisque fire a lump of clay or is it OK to make up the paper clay with raw slip/clay and then bisque fire again the whole piece? Many thanks for whoever can give me some clarity on this!

EDIT 2 : January 2016 - I've tested the porcelain-paper-clay-based engobes, and I haven't noticed any difference. Even with regards to sgraffito, there's no difference that I can see. Thank you all for your input EDIT 1 : November 2015 - The answer seems to be "yes, of course it's possible". I'll update the message again once I've tried it for myself. posted November 2015 Hi ! *Background information :* I use an expensive porcelain, and generally go to great lengths to reclaim every scraps. I throw my pots on the wheel, and decorate my pots with home-made engobes that I formulate on the basis of a slip made from the same porcelain body, to which I add various pigments/stains/oxides etc. I usually use a commercial glaze, glossy transparent, and electric-fire between 1280°c and 1320°c (which converts to cone 9-10 ?). Last year, for the first time, I prepared a batch of paper-clay using the same porcelain body I usually use. After playing with it, I was left with a pile of bone-dry paper-clay. I crushed it, added water to slip consistency, sieved it through 80 mesh, and stored it in a bucket for 18 months. I'm now left with 30 liters (8 gallons ?) of porcelain-paper-clay slip that I'd like to use in some way. Hopefully as basis for engobe, because I need big quantities of it, and always find myself running short. But I'm concerned about the presence of paper fibers in the mix. Could it significantly affect the bonding between the slip and the pots during the drying process ? during the 1st firing ? Could it affect the texture of the surface of the pots ? Could it affect the color ? Could it cause significant issues with regards to the glazing ? *Question :* Can I use this porcelain-paper-clay slip without further a-do as a basis for engobe, as I usually do with "normal" porcelain slip ? If yes, great ! If no, what do you advise ? Is there something I could do to make this slip usable as a basis for engobe ? I'd be very thankful for your advice, if you had experience with this. Emma Disclaimer 1 : I've been working with clay for only 5 years, with my own studio for 6 months. I try to experiment as much as possible, but now that I have my own studio, I often feel too caught in the production process (to be able to live and pay rent !) to go as thoroughly and systematically as I'd like in the trial-and-error approach. Disclaimer 2 : English isn't my 1st language. I hope I managed to explain my process/problem clearly enough !

Is it possible that particularly virulent bacteria continued to respire in the drying slipware? if yes, would that show bubbles burst at the surface visible to me before firing, or not, I wonder? I made my own porcelain paper clay slip with porcelain powder, dispex, tissue and water. It's worked before but I left this one and it stank. following instructions from tutor I added a bit of bleach but the bleach didn't completely kill whatever it was, not totally. It was grey in colour. I poured vessels, they looked fine (but the smell and grey colour lingered until they were totally dry). Biscuit showed no signs of any problems. But stoneware temp and they've come out looking really vile, absolutely completely covered in small irregular bumps. I've broken them open and it's clear air pockets near to the surface predominantly. I can't see that this was clumped paper fibre as most of the gas holes are smooth in shape. It was a well mixed and as bubble-free as a liquid as I would usually have it. Therefore any burnt off paper could have escaped through usual channels. HOwever, if the paper gas could escape then why not this gas (if that's what it was)? Is this just a matter of something going too hot? many thanks.

Hello Everyone! just a quick question... sorry if its obvious! can i stain flax paper clay, i'm using Scarva Flax paper clay E/S400 (1080*c fining cone 03) is it possible to stain this clay? and if so, could anyone recommend some stains? thanks! Toni

I am interested in starting to use paper clay in my work. At this time I do alot of display work that is not intended for food use so I know it would not have a functional effect in that regard. I do, however, make a lot of mugs and drinking vessels as well as some functional platters at times and I'm curious if the paper clay would have an adverse effect on the functionality of using finished pieces for food use. Anyone have any experience with this or advice? Thank you in advance!! Debi

I have a question I hope those if you that use it can help answer. I have a sculpture that took me over a week to make and almost month to dry slowly. I was getting ready to paint on the underglaze decoration when I noticed a very fine hairline crack across the tip of one ear, all I can think is it got bumped at some point and I didn't notice it. I whipped up my first ever batch of Paperclay Slip, thank you everyone for posting your recipes! I used toilet paper, some of my dry clay body, a bit of water and some vinegar to make a thick slurry. I brushed this on the ear inside and out in several layers allowing it to dry in between. Now that it's dry can I clean it up and paint underglaze on it like I was planning to? Or should I gently clean and smooth the area bisque it THEN paint on the underglaze? Thanks for your help! Terry