In the process of firing my backyard “barbeque style” kiln behind my apartment/studio in Inverness I went out to the edge of the wooded area that surrounds the complex to look for some dirt to help insulate the top of the kiln. As I dug into the hard ground, I pulled up sticky dirt. As I played with it in my hands I realized it could be clay and proceeded to dig up a buckets worth. I crumbled it up as best I could and covered it with water. I let it sit for a day and dug into it with my hands and realized that parts of it were a very pure clay, both grey and ochre. I “smooshed” it up and made a nice creamy sauce of it. I added more water and stirred it up till it was quite thin, allowing the heavier partices to settle through it to the bottom and the creamy clay to rise to the top. I let it sit for several days, skimming off the clear water on top as the particles settled. When the top became cream like in consistancy I skimmed some off and put it on a piece of plaster to dry. What I ended up with was a remarkable clay with great properties. It was very plastic, held it’s shape and marks perfective, did not dry rapidly with working and could be made extremely thin without cracking. It dried perfectly without cracking and was very durable and hard in the dry state. I sanded it smooth and burnished it to a beautiful achre colored sheen. I am doing research on clay sources in a=Alabama and talking to local Potteries to discover the history of clay mining and use in Alabama.
At some time in the future I will be offering you the opportunity to find and process some “Homegrown” Alabama clay to use for special projects in a class called “Alabama Clay”. The class will be one day for four hours. I will show you how and where to look for clay, process it and get it ready to use and complete a small project.
If it sounds intersting and it is, give me a call at 480-298-9605 or contact me at nolart@AOL.com.
