Clay Types 101 – Deciding on the Right Clay Type – Sewing Machines Los Angeles

Clay is the veritable air that any potter needs in order to create art. With advances in all areas of pottery from glazes to texturing tools, a day spent searching for your own clay can be a fun but arduous one-time experience. By learning about the various types and uses of clay that are available on the market today, you can spend your free time making pottery and leave the back-breaking work of digging up clay as a distant memory.

Novice to expert, most artists use some type of pottery wheel clay. Red earthenware is a great choice for a beginning potter. It has a soft red-brown color that is versatile and easy-to-use. Another highlight of this clay is that it is both reliable and affordable. Another option in the earthenware family is white earthenware. This clay is perfect for hand building and throwing. It fires to a soft, creamy color that is aesthetically pleasing. Stoneware clay creates dramatic mixtures of whites, blues, and grays when fired. This type of clay is popular in more modern-style pottery and often used for larger ovenwares.

Raku has a long history with potters. This unrefined type of clay contains higher amounts of fired and ground clay. This unique mixture creates the ideal clay for smaller Japanese-inspired creations, large sculptures and even simple pottery tile. Porcelain clays incorporate ball, feldspar and china clays. Their glassy appearance makes them a popular choice in creating everything from cups and plates, to soup terrenes and saucers for fine dining. Elegant doll heads are created with porcelain. If you are interested in working with porcelain, you might want to consider starting with a small order or sample pack and then see what suits your artistic needs best.

After you’ve decided on what type of clay is best for you the clay preparation and fun begins. Upon the arrival of your clay, don’t let the “prepared” label on the packing fool you. Most clay needs to be kneaded and wedged. Proper kneading and wedging insures that both color and texture are consistent throughout the material and free from unwanted air pockets in the clay. Unattended air pockets can ruin a project, shattering nearby pots and creating havoc on your art. It is fairly common to discover undesirable bits of this or that in the clay material, so make sure that you are thorough with your kneading and wedging before you begin the project at hand.