013 – What Clay Do You Use?

Resources Clay companies mentioned: Standard Ceramic Laguna Clay Sheffield Pottery New Mexico Clay Amaco Aardvark Clay Highwater Clays Valentine Clays Plainsman Clays Continental Clay Keane Ceramics Potclays Transcript Welcome to episode 13. Now we are getting down to the nuts and bolts. Or should I say the alumina and silica? Because this episode is all about clay. What clay do you use and why do you use it? There was a lot of discussion on this topic which is unsurprising. If you have a bunch of people that are passionate about clay, one of the best topics to talk about is probably clay! Hopefully this episode will give you some things to think about if you want to try a new clay or just need a change. And remember, if there is something you want to remember or explore, you can find the show notes for this episode, and every episode, at expertclay.com. Just click on “podcast” in the menu and find the right episode. One cool thing about the show notes is that all the names are actually links to the social media account of the person that left the comment so you can get in touch with somebody if you have questions or want to start a secret bmix fanclub or something. So let’s get to the discussion. Most of the comments are grouped by the manufacturer of the clays mentioned. I saved a few of my favorite responses for the end. I’ll also share 5 things to consider when choosing a clay. Standard Ceramics EricaBodinePottery Standard Ceramics 112 Speckled Brown. I love how I can push this clay body to limits other clays won’t tolerate. Need a piece finished in a short time? This clay will make you happy. I love the results the manganese gives. I had someone ask me once if I put glitter in my clay. ?✨? Elanpottery Standard 182 I love the white canvas it provides while still being sturdy for functional ware and easy to throw with. Rdceramics Standard 182 no grog. It’s very nice to throw with, good for carving and is a great canvas for my glaze selection Whimandvigor Love Standard’s 153. It’s an absolute workhorse: works for throwing and handbuilding, fires beautifully, reclaims well. Stiff.clay.studio I flip flop between Standard 181 and Loafers Glory. Both take glaze like a dream and are delightful to throw with. I’ve even accidentally mixed them together in a slop bucket and the reclaim was fabulous too! SharonMerchantivy My favorite is Standard 378 because of the richness the color and the speckles add to my glazes after firing. Unfortunately, I don’t have a local supplier now that I’ve moved to MS and am about to start the search for a different clay. Laguna Mudandyarn I’m a HUGE fan of Laguna Clay’s speckled stoneware! I just love letting a good chunk of the natural clay show on pots so you can feel the texture and see the beauty of it! HomemadeTastesBetterOnHandmade Was using primarily Laguna BMix/Wood, but since our studio has become a Laguna Clay distributor, it’s been hard to resist trying other clays. Currently using Laguna/Miller 850 in production, and testing out darker clays, too. Also trying BMix/grog for some wood ash firings. Claybylaura I use a low fire white Laguna Clay right now. I like playing with Amaco underglaze and Glaze combinations on the textured surface of my pieces with a ‘bright’ color palette. These all seem to play nice together. ( I switched from a different low fire clay about a year ago when I started having problems with glaze popping off a finished piece — even long after flring). Cedarhillchick Cone 10 B-Mix. It is good for hand building, looks great fired in a gas kiln or wood fired kiln. Also like Ann’s wood & soda clay from NM Clay. Laurieandwilliam ^6 B mix, red clay, Speckled Buff. All laguna, beautiful throwing properties. Those 3 cover pretty much any mood I’m in! Gnome_island_studios My all time favorite sculpture clay was Coconut Crackle from #leslieceramics but they discontinued it. Sad. So n