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Searched around for similar posts and only found one. So I’ve been gifted a large wooden table with a particle board top that I’ve been using for wedging. As of late lots of little bits of the particle board are getting stuck to the clay when I’m rolling out for hand building. They aren’t deeply embedded but deep enough that I’d mess up my pieces if I tried to wash them out. I’m using a sandy buff stoneware from standard ceramic (509). These pieces are going to be a bit more rustic in look so I won’t mind if there are tiny divots after firing, but my main concerns are 1) Will it negatively affect the kiln at all (I use someone else’s) and 2) will it affect how the glaze takes (I can never attach a photo as it always says they are too large...any tips for that as well?) thanks friends!

For as long as I've been working with clay, I've had a great big blind spot about wedging. Regardless of whether I wedge using the spiral or ram's head method, I often end up with muddy bubble wrap rather than nicely compacted, even textured stoneware goodness. I don't know if I'm just not doing it enough (I tend to stop well before 50 kneads per direction) or if I'm putting too much or too little pressure on the clay when wedging or if there's another magic secret to this process that has eluded me so far. I'm also wondering if I really need to wedge clay if I'm pulling it straight out of a brand new bag of clay. Any insight y'all might be willing to share would be super helpful. Thank you, -Kristina

John Donovan - Jul 12-16, 2019 - FIGURATIVE MYTH(OLOGY) - $606.50 $606.50 Workshop Description: Figurative Myth(ology) will be an exploration of hand-building techniques in clay with the intent of creating abstracted or fragmented figurative forms imbued with personal narrative content. Bring your sketchbook and favorite marking-stick, as drawing will be used as a tool for idea generation and later for planning and problem solving. The core concepts at play will be combining slab and coil building processes and working on multiple forms simultaneously to gain and maintain creative inertia. A working knowledge of basic/introductory building techniques (wedging, coil & slab building, pinch and modeling of clay) is required, but advanced clay experience is not. REGISTER HERE ALL LEVELS. INTRODUCTORY HAND BUILDING SKILLS ARE HANDY. Session runs July 12-16, 2019 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily, open studio hours on select days. Fee includes tuition + materials fee + studio fee. Students may be asked to bring some additional items. Materials include 50 lbs. of clay and 2 firings. Additional clay will be available for purchase. Artist Bio: John Donovan is a Nashville-based ceramic artist striving to maintain an active exhibition, academic and studio production career. John earned his BFA from Loyola University, New Orleans, in 1994 and MA & MFA degrees from Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas in 1996 & 1997, and presently teaches ceramics and 3-D design at Belmont University. John is represented by LeMieux Galleries in New Orleans and Zeitgeist Art Gallery in Nashville, with work regularly appearing in nationally and internationally juried and invitational shows. Noteworthy exhibits include the 2005 World Ceramic Biennale International Competition (3rd edition) in Icheon, South Korea, the Tennessee Arts Commission in 2008, and a major “mid-career” solo exhibition at the Huntsville Museum of Art in 2013. John received the 2011-12 Individual Artist Fellowship in Craft Media from the Tennessee Arts Commission. In 2016 John branched out from his sculptural career and established Tenure Ceramics LLC, focusing on the design and production of custom ceramic tableware for both restaurant and home. www.tenureceramics.com

Hi, I have a lot of difficulty with wedging in large amounts of clay. I want to mix stains into 5 lb. increments of porcelain. Any suggestions on type of machine. Would A dough mixer or pug mill work. I’m not looking to spend a lot. It’s just for my home studio. Thanks, Liz

I need to find the best All-In-One clay for cone 5, great for both hand building and wheel throwing I know. That's a tall order. But I can dream. I have a pug mill and don't want 2 bodies. Problem: I have too many problems with my gas kiln for cone 06 anymore. I'm DONE. I am moving to cone 5. Criteria / Factors: I'm in Southern California I teach 180 high school students grades 9-12, all levels of art skills, so it has to take punishment Not too sandy on the wheel, not too smooth or squishy for hand building Not too dense so it is so top-heavy when trimming I'm willing to pug the new clay to soften it for throwing, if it is stiff and great for hand building, or visa versa Doesn't stain clothes or the tables, rolling pins, or make a mess everywhere Is not pure white (students can't see where they missed glazing spots when using light color glazes - painting) Good leather hard, doesn't soften up too easily when re-wetting to score things together Doesn't take every indentation to the surface of pieces, temperamentalD Centers on the wheel fairly easily, especially for teen girls with tiny hands Can take a good amount of water from beginners Pulling walls, it is strong, doesn't warp or sag easily Won't dry out too quickly in hands while hand building Doesn't bend or warp easily when removing from the wheel Not so soft that it caves when cutting and sliding off the wheel Doesn't make teens hate the class because it stains clothes or gets everywhere and of course, takes glazes well and can handle a little fluctuation in gas environments Cone 5 clays I've Tried: Laguna - Dover White: Nice clay, but pure white. easy to center, but A little soft when hand building Laguna - Plain (Buff): Nice light tan color, easy center and to rehydrate if repairing, but a bit too squishy and shows every dent Laguna - Moroccan Sand: I love this clay, doesn't leave residue - color, but a bit dense to center. It is really dark grayish brown, if they only could lighten it Laguna - Buff with Sand: Nice tan color, but WAY too sandy for students on the wheel Laguna - Greystone: Too dense and top heavy for small pieces, hard to center, but really takes a beating with water, warps when thin due to density of surrounding clay Laguna - Speckled Buff: A bit dark in color, has iron so it gets read everywhere, could stain (think girls with pure white vans) Laguna - LB-6: hmmm, can't remember, but nixed it very soon after Laguna - Sante Fe: OMG - red EVERYWHERE, like a crime scene Aardvark Clay - SBF - Too dark tan - a bit sticky for students Aardvark Clay -Arctic White: Too white Opinions???? Go!!!

Hi, I want to make a slab of pop for wedging. How thick should the plaster be so that it doesn't crack? I want to make a wooden frame and fill with plaster. Thanks in advance. Have a good week Andrea

I’m going to teach myself spiral wedging sometime, which prompted a question about wedging in general. I throw clockwise on the wheel, I usually just do a quick rams head wedging to prep my clay. I have not really paid attention to the direction of the wedge once I work it into a ball and put it on the wheel. But is it better to wedge in the same direction as your wheel or the opposite? My gut tells me it should be in the same direction but I don’t know why. Any input? Thanks!!

Hi guys. Im about to lose my mind. I started pottery about 6 months ago and have been progressing really well. I started with buff stoneware and went on to white stoneware with no problems. I was throwing upto 800 gms till now. Recently I tried throwing a 1500 and then 2000 gms and was so pleased that I was successful. And then one day I couldn't center anymore. And the worst part is I cant figure out why. Not even 600 gms. Not even less. Nothing. I always get a twist right at the bottom on the clay where it touches the wheel and lumps/knots throughout my clay ! I just dont know what it is. After failing on my wheel at home, I tried it in my pottery class in front of my tutor as well. As soon as I touch the clay it gets this nasty twist at the bottom that I cant get out. My pottery teacher and two other students tried to center it as well with no luck. I just dont understand why this is happening. Ive tried different clays, different wheels - nothing. Im getting so frustrated. To explain my centering process - I used to cone up and down to center and then I had more luck recently with pressing with the heel of my left palm on the side and with my right fist on top of the clay to center. It used to get centered under 2 minutes. But none of those methods are working at the moment. Ive struggled for 30-40 minutes at a stretch without any luck. Anyone face a similar problem? How did you solve it? Just to let you know - I have no personal problems or anything that are affecting this - and since my tutor wasnt able to center my clay as well im guessing its not related to anything going on internally with me. Maybe its my wedging? I dont know. Any ideas?

In the past, I have often written that I wedge all of my clay even though I take it right out of the bag. There are several reasons for this, and I wanted to take a few lines to explain them further and throw out some ideas for thought. My reasons for wedging clay for the last 30+ years are as follows: If the clay came out of the pug mill, it usually needed to be blended to an even consistency, remove air bubbles, dry it our some, and line up the particles so that for better strength. If out of the box at home, it had usually frozen over the Winter here in Central PA. Freezing drives water out of the clay to the outside, and leaves all sorts of striations in the clay block. I start wedging this by turning all sides into the center with cut and slam, then cut and slam the entire block about 5 times, finish by spiral cone wedging the clay into weighed out pot sized amounts. Wedging as exercise. I wedge clay for exercise, as crazy as that might seem, but when throwing for hours at a time, the break to wedge up the ball of clay to be used on a pot down the line is a welcome way of stretching the back and shoulders. This also brings me to the final reason I forced myself to not be lazy about wedging clay. Finally, wedging as therapy. Years ago I was in a bad auto wreck that left me with some damaged vertebrae. This caused lots of pain in the lower back for decades. Some days I could hardly get out of bed without levering my body out of bed with the weight of my legs. I found that hanging from an overhead bar would stretch the back and help some. However, my go to exercise became wedging because of the way the process worked. . . . at least for me. The process of wedging lifts the shoulders upward and back as you push against the clay and at the same time the shoulder lift and the body movement stretches the back muscles and the spine itself. With regular rhythm and movement in the wedging process where you are not trying to hurry the job, or wedge too much clay you can do wonders for you core and spine. So, I leave this open to comment, and I am sure many of you will go on about getting a pug mill, which for me would be a big investment, but as I get older I have been looking for a good used one. However, even with a deairing pug mill, I would still probably wedge for the last two reasons above.

I have been told to cone my clay up and down on the wheel to get rid up air bubbles and to create equal density in clay. But isn't this what I am doing when I wedge my clay? Also, it seems like no matter how thoroughly I wedge my clay, I may still have some bubbles residing in it. While I understand that they pose no "blow out" problem, they are still undesirable. It there a way to wedge that absolutely eliminates bubbles?