JoshEdgarStudios Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 Hello! I have been having trouble tracking down a suitable clay body for my kurinuki pieces. I had issues with 'S' cracks using the stoneware provided by the ceramic department, and I switched to HELIOS porcelain for a brief stint, but the lack of grog didn't appeal to me (I'm obsessed with texture). I mostly wish to do atmospheric firings, although I'm stuck with electric for the near future until I can track down a wood kiln near Austin. My main question is, would a sculpture clay body be suitable for carving to make my chawans, yunomis, etc? I'm thinking that with the higher grolleg content, I'll have less cracking issues, as well as added texture to the surfaces. I don't know of anyone that uses sculpture clay for tableware, though. I tried Standard 710 w/grog, hoping that the added grog would rough up the surface, but it was negligible. I do heavy carving on my kurinuki pieces, and I really want that rough texture showing through the final piece. Here are examples of my texture I'm chasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 there is a lot of info on s cracks on this site, search box at to rh of forum page, may be you can sort t. from that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshEdgarStudios Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 4 minutes ago, Babs said: there is a lot of info on s cracks on this site, search box at to rh of forum page, may be you can sort t. from that The 'S' cracks weren't my main concern, as I've altered my drying process to avoid them. The cracks were just the reason for trying other commercial clay bodies and not being able to find one with the grolleg texture I was achieving with the mixed clay from the department. I graduated in December, so I'm working on my own now and need a clay body with a lot of grog. That' why I was wondering about using sculpture clay for my kurinuki pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 You could just wedge in whatever amounts of texture you are looking for. This could be much easier than trying to find a clay body that has exactly what you want. I know I tried several bodies looking for something with a lot of texture and I couldn't find any at cone 6. There are several good cone 10 bodies that are slap full of materials though. The only downside of wedging in materials is you have to wedge your clay. If you work a lot of clay every day it can be physically taxing. I don't have this issue as I don't produce volumes of work, I would assume doing kurinuki that you are not producing massive volumes of work with this method either, although could be very wrong. A pug mill could be a solution to this problem as well. I personally wedge in sand, course grog, and chicken grit to my cone 6 work and get very good textures when I cut into my bodies. Anyways, just an idea. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnolia Mud Research Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 Try the Raku clay from Armadillo Clay - Austin, TX. The clay body matures at cone 10. I have a set of mugs fired cone 10 reduction that are water tight and are very functional . Made a tea service set of water jar, vase, etc. Interior glazed with thin shino, iron oxide wash outside. LT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshEdgarStudios Posted March 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 Thank you for your responses. I think I'm just gonna have to wedge in the grolleg by hand, as suggested, although I think I'll adopt the cut and slam method so I can make large batches after testing percentages. I had bilateral De Quervain surgery on my wrists last year, and regular wedging kills me. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 5 hours ago, JoshEdgarStudios said: Thank you for your responses. I think I'm just gonna have to wedge in the grolleg by hand, as suggested, although I think I'll adopt the cut and slam method so I can make large batches after testing percentages. I had bilateral De Quervain surgery on my wrists last year, and regular wedging kills me. Thanks again! Cut and slam method is more efficient then spiral wedging anyways. I do both. I spiral wedge to get it started then I cut and slam after I feel like enough is in the material. Then I spiral wedge again. I add about a quarter pound of material to each pound of clay. I looked at your work. Very nice stuff. Please keep us posted on how the additions go. Some people here found it useful and some found it not what they wanted. We had a post about chicken scratch here: Not sure if you read it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshEdgarStudios Posted March 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 Has anyone tried to add grolleg to Little Loafers or Standard 240? I can't find any examples of someone doing that. I'm just trying to find a white ^6 stoneware that I can add a lot of grolleg to for texture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 i use little loafers and if i wanted to know that answer, i would call jennifer at Highwater clay and ask what amount she would suggest to do whatever you want. same with Standard ceramics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnolia Mud Research Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 Are you locked in with firing at cone 6? I have used Armadillo's Longhorn White with grog at cone 3 (oxidization). It has lots of texture, is pure white with dark specs where the grog shows through, and has zero absorption at cone 3 oxidation. At cone 04, its 'standard' firing range, the absorption is about 15%. I worked with Longhorn White for three years firing at cone 3 making chawan, bowls, vases, etc. It is easy to use throwing, slab, or carving. I now fire at to cone 10, and use Longhorn White as a glaze. LT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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