Laurence Black Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 Hi, I'm a relative newbie (1 year at evening classes) and have just got a home setup. Just in time for the lock-down, thankfully. I've seen tips online for recycling bone dry clay, and have half a bucket full and ready to go. The question is about clay at other states: 1. The white bucket of pretty damp clay. It is the remains of lots of some very sloppy throwing from yesterday. Once it has stiffened a bit can I just wedge it and use it? Or should I put a lid on the bucket for a while to homogenise it a bit? 2. The yellow bucket is what I have been washing my hands and tools in. It is half full of water and the bottom half is settled clay sediment. I haven't used anything but water and the same clay in it. Can I recycle this? I may be a bit cheap, but it seems a shame to throw it out. I really appreciate your help and have found the forums invaluable for starting out. Many thanks Laurence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 i find it simple to recycle totally bone dry clay. just add water and let it slake down. the first water to add is the sludge from the bottom of the yellow bucket. pour off the clear water first. if you have enough of the sludge just wait overnight and wedge. if you do not have enough water using only that, add a little at a time. the sludge has a lot of ingredients the make the clay more plastic so you want to use it. just wedge the softer stuff if you can and reuse it. putting a tight lid on that bucket will only delay the process since the clay will not change while covered. clay does not homogenize, it just sits or dries out depending on its container. those lumpy pieces will stay that way indefinitely if you cover the bucket tightly so no air gets in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 Old lady has told you everything you could ever need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Black Posted May 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 On 4/30/2020 at 2:16 PM, oldlady said: i find it simple to recycle totally bone dry clay. just add water and let it slake down. the first water to add is the sludge from the bottom of the yellow bucket. pour off the clear water first. if you have enough of the sludge just wait overnight and wedge. if you do not have enough water using only that, add a little at a time. the sludge has a lot of ingredients the make the clay more plastic so you want to use it. just wedge the softer stuff if you can and reuse it. putting a tight lid on that bucket will only delay the process since the clay will not change while covered. clay does not homogenize, it just sits or dries out depending on its container. those lumpy pieces will stay that way indefinitely if you cover the bucket tightly so no air gets in. Thanks a lot. Did it and it worked. I'm very impressed with how beautifully easy it is to recycle. I can be less precious with pots I'm not sure of now I know how easy it is to turn them into something else. I think I love clay even more now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Laurence Black said: how easy it is to turn them into something else. I think I love clay even more now... It's one of the few arts/hobbies where you can almost continually recycle the raw materials. Until you fire, of course . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyK Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Chilly said: It's one of the few arts/hobbies where you can almost continually recycle the raw materials. Until you fire, of course . And even after you fire, if you don't like a piece as it is, you can break it up and use the pieces for some sort of mosaic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnolia Mud Research Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 2 hours ago, JohnnyK said: And even after you fire, if you don't like a piece as it is, you can break it up and use the pieces for some sort of mosaic... , ... use the "pieces" as gravel in your driveway, or crush them into sand and use the sand as grog, or: you can crush the pieces to powder and use the powder as a decorative component in either the clay or in a glaze. LT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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