Clay can be found in a multitude of areas and is often considered a nuisance to gardeners. But how does it go from being in the ground to a clay body, a clay material that is able to be formed into pottery?
The first step is digging the clay from the earth. The goal is to get as little debris as possible; fresh, damp clay is exceptionally heavy, so taking out large stones and clumps of soil can ease the difficult job of carrying a large load of clay to the work space.
Next, the clay is set up to be sifted.
The clay is left to dry, and then finely ground. Those grindings are then sifted through a fine basket; the clay powder falling through into a separate container and the smaller debris is left in the basket to be thrown back to the earth. In recent times, water has been used to facilitate the process. Because clay dissolves in water, a clay soup is made and poured through a screen or fine basket into a secondary bucket. The water is then left to separate as the heavy clay sinks, and is skimmed off the surface. Any extra water will evaporate out of the clay. If the water evaporates completely, making it workable again is as easy as adding a liitle more water and mixing it together.
Sometimes, if the clay is of high quality, this is enough to have a viable clay body (or workable clay material).
Other times, unwanted minerals and other impurities make using the clay problematic so other fillers have to be added. Here on the Outer Banks, the minimal clay is full of salt and has to be compensated with ground clam shells!
