Material from Lost Ridge

I recently gathered a small amount of material from a friend’s property to make some pots for her that would contain the material and memories of that space. It was a good opportunity to take some photographs of the process to share.

There was a drainage ditch beside the driveway where some red clay had eroded and settled in the ditch; using a rock I scraped the clay and filled about a third of a plastic sandwich bag. This allowed me to gather finer material than if I had indiscriminately used a shovel elsewhere on the property. Later on, I screened the material through a screen I had constructed out of wood scraps, regular window screen and a heavier duty screen.

I wanted to try using some of the red clay without a lot of organic material or large rocks disrupting throwing on the wheel. Once I had sieved some of the material into a somewhat consistent size, I added handfuls between slices of pre-wedged white commercial clay (182).

Next I wedged the clay to evenly distribute the Lost Ridge material and eliminate any air I may have introduced to the clay.

Air bubble revealed while wedging the wild material into the clay body.

Because I haven’t tested the Lost Ridge material, I am not 100% sure of how it will fire in a kiln. I therefore used a relatively small proportion of “wild” material with the commercial clay. If the material were to melt, I don’t think it would threaten the structural integrity of the pots. Lost Ridge is close to other sites where I have gathered materials, and this material is similar those. This is sandier than it is clayey, and I expect it to behave in a way that makes the clay body more coarse and adds some color via the iron content.

Once the clay was wedged sufficiently, I threw a lump on the wheel to make a cup.

I noticed midway through pulling up the wall that the wild material had added something that was spotting on the surface. I am eager to see if this characteristic carries through the firing, or if it simply burns out.

Once the form was thrown and sufficiently set up (dried to leather hard), I wired the cup off of the bat and inverted it to trim the excess clay from the bottom. This image of the freshly wired cup shows the distribution of the wild material.

I trimmed a small foot into the bottom of the cup, revealing more of the Lost Ridge material that had been obscured by the clay slurry during the throwing process. Rather than smooth the surface, I left evidence of the coarse material and how it drags through the clay during the trimming process.

I look forward to seeing how the Lost Ridge material influences the character of this commercial clay body, and I can’t wait to gift this cup and a matching bowl to my friend.

Greenware cup, trimmed and signed.