My Clay and Processing

I always wanted to make my own clay for throwing, but felt I needed to gain throwing skills before starting to make clay.   Simon Leach made it look simple in two videos ( https://youtu.be/odUM7Rwuv8M and https://youtu.be/sJkTjq5zLws ).   I tried to make my own clay when I installed the new kiln in 2016, but the bowl turned into a collapsed glob on a new kiln shelf.  Not good.  I turned to Wendt Pottery of Lewiston, Idaho to learn how to throw using his bagged clay.  Wendt is a local commercial potter with over 40 years experience.  He mines his own clay locally and has the permits and processing equipment.  Wendt's bagged clay is a pseudo-porcelain clay fired cone 10.  

Thoughts and Hacks when working with dug clay

1. Changing the melting point of native dug clay by adding feldspar may have prevented the first bowl from melting down.

2. Lowing firing temperature would have also prevented meltdown of the dug clay. 

3. There was a lot of grog in the dug clay and the clay did not stick together very well so maybe need to extract less from the bottom of bucket.   

Why I mix and process my own clay.

Fun Factor

Sometimes it is the fun factor that gets the better of your judgement.  Timewise,  I could make more pots just buy bags of prepared clay and focus on creating pots.  The appeal of making my own clay started from the first video I watched.  You control the process and consistancy of the product.  I had no clue it would become an obcession that was also fun.  

Cost shifting away from profiteers.

Shipping is the real cost of raw material for clay.  It make not sence to pay for the cost of shipping water so processed bag clay is out of the question.  I bought my first 10 bags of clay from a local potter that made his own but found he liked a stiffer clay than I liked to throw.  So I turned to purchasing the components needed to make my own.

In 2018, Estimated shipping cost for raw material to make 23 batches ranged from $150 to $300.  My solution was to freight a year's supply (620 lbs) of both raw materials and glaze directly from Laguna Clay Company factory in southern California for a cost of $175.   Wendt pottery indicated he shipped from the Clay Arts center in Tacoma, Washington because the shipping costs were low.  In 2019, my inquires showed the shipping costs were lower from the Clay Arts Center but they charged more for the raw material.  On an 850 lb order from Clay Arts Center was $35 less than shipping directly from Laguna Clay Company.  It reduced the cost of raw materials by $0.03 per lb of pottery clay.   In the fall 2019, Clay Arts Center website price was $64 more before shipping and they never provided a quote for shipping.  I ordered from Laguna.  The cost of shipping in 2024 is up by 3X, but materials plus shipping costs are still less than $1/lb.  In 2026, expecting cost of material plus shipping to be about $1.25/lb.  

I currently process most of my clay using a pugmill.  I have included information on "old school" processing for those potters without a pugmill. 

Pugmill

Old School