Welcome to a week of "Starting with Clay"! This week we'll be looking at the very basics... what you need to know if you are starting out with clay as a hobby all on your own.
The first thing a person new to pottery needs to understand is clay itself. Or, more accurately, clays.
Although we usually lump clay under its generic term, there are a host of different types of straight-from-the-ground clays. In addition to these mined clays are often blended for different characteristics, depending on the type and style of work being done by the potter or ceramic artist. These blends are called clay bodies.
Things to know about clay:
- Different clay bodies mature at different temperatures.
- All clay shrinks. Shrinkage can be from 4 to 30%, depending on the clay body.
- Some air-dry and all polymer "clays" are not clay at all. For functional work like dishes and vases that hold water, you need a clay that requires high temperatures to convert it to ceramic. (Find out how temperature changes clay.)
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