I’ll admit it. I love soft clay. Granted, firm clay is great for hand-building. But when I throw, I like my clay soft. Really soft. So soft that when you wedge it, it wants to stick to the board. Lovely, creamy, soft clay. Easy to wedge, easy to center and a pleasure to throw.
While I’ve been overall very happy with my clay (Axner’s version of Cone 5/6 B-Mix), I’ve struggled with how hard it is (8 times out of 10) straight out of the bag. I’m not sure if this is common with many clay bodies (and I’d love to hear from potters about how usable THEIR clay is straight out of the bag) but a quick search on clayart revealed that this is a common complaint about B-Mix. However, as my water absorbency tests for this clay have been superb, it fits my glazes nicely AND Axner have been great about rapidly getting the clay to me in USPS flat rate boxes whenever I need it (we’re talking clay in 3 days!), I’m sticking with it. At least for now.
As I don’t have a pug-mill (nor plans to get one), I’ve been trying various tricks of the trade for softening clay. All methods involve introducing water into the clay. The trick is getting enough water into the clay without turning it into mush… So far I’ve tried spraying the clay with water (not quick enough) and punching holes into blocks of clay and pouring in water (messy, and a major pain to wedge away the holes). What has worked best for me so far has been wedging very soft clay (e.g., from throwing) into hard clay. This, however, is a very messy process. And, it obviously requires having some very soft clay.
The other day I tried a new method for softening clay I had read about on clayart. Basically, you pour some water into the bag of clay (how much water depends on how dry it is), close it up and then put the bag in a bucket, which is then filled with water. The idea is that the water in the bucket forces the water in the bag evenly into the clay. Sounded like sound physics to me, and not the least bit messy. So, I decided to experiment on the last bag of clay I have. Did it work? Well, unfortunately, I’m not sure! My bag of clay had a small split in the plastic so when I pulled it out of the bucket, I had a bit of a mess to contend with…Oh well. Gave me plenty of mushy clay to mix into my hard clay, which promptly and easily turned into a bunch of large bowls and mugs. The quest for easy soft clay continues…
Some results from a good throwing session with lovely soft clay (with a view)
Feb 16, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I cut the clay into approx 5 lb sections. get a large towel wet. roll each section into the towel. Place it into an airtight plastic bag. The next day your clay should be perfect for throwing. If it’s super hard clay it might take a couple days.
I get my b-mix from Laguna. Always perfect for throwing right out of the bag.
Feb 17, 2010 at 11:30 am
Thanks for the tips Cindy. Sounds like you’ve been using a lot of different clay bodies. Any favorites?
Feb 18, 2010 at 10:39 pm
I throw a variety of Laguna clays. My all time favorite is ^6 Hawaiian Red.
Feb 16, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Sorry, I am a firm clay believer meself but that is a fab bunch of pots in front of a million dollar view 🙂
Feb 17, 2010 at 11:29 am
Thanks Gary! I don’t think I will ever get tired of our view. If I do, slap me! 🙂
Feb 16, 2010 at 8:42 pm
I too love a very soft clay to throw. I have wrapped it in very wet towel and re-wrapped. But a tip from one of my potter friends that I love and is not messy is – poke holes in bag and clay of bag to soften. place in a bag that has no slits or holes in it and 1/4 cup water or more if exremely hard. close with twist tie. Clay should be soft by morning. If you are in the studio throwing-I flip from one side to the other every hour or so while I am there, then let it sit overnight and it is beautiful.
Love your posts!
Feb 17, 2010 at 11:28 am
Great tips Annie! I’ll likely try a bunch of methods next time I order clay (next week…). 🙂 Glad you are enjoying our blog!
Feb 16, 2010 at 10:03 pm
i use the same method as cindy. i’ve tried other methods and always come back to the wet towel. nice and neat, no sloppy mess. my clay seems pretty hard out of the bag too (from archie bray m-340), but when i work w/ it a little it softens up. never had clay that did that but i like the clay so i’ll keep at it.
Feb 16, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Miri…Yes, pouring water into the bag of clay and then putting it into a bucket of water does work. I do that regularly, and most times double bagging is a safe guard to that mushy result you talked about.:)
If you ever have an opportunity, try Plainsman Pottery’s M370. It is a white stoneware that is smooth and so easy to throw. (might cost you mega to get it to PR, but thought I would tell you anyways).
Great work and yes, beautiful view! 🙂
Feb 17, 2010 at 11:27 am
Thanks Trish. Double bagging for sure from now on! 🙂 Yeah, shipping from Canada to PR… If it wasn’t for the flat-rate boxes, shipping from mainland US would be prohibitive. Thanks for the lead though. Always good to know about clays that work for folks.
Feb 16, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Yes, soft soft soft clay! Easier on the body. When I worked at Claymakers we did the bag in bucket thing to get clay soft. works well.
Feb 17, 2010 at 11:26 am
Thanks Tracey. I’ll definitely have to give the bucket trick another try.
Feb 17, 2010 at 10:07 am
i like the soft clay too. i use laguna ^6 grolleg porcelain and although it’s fine out of the bag, it would be nice if it were a touch wetter. one way i found that usually makes it perfect is to throw and screw up a piece… then take the ruined piece and rewedge it. not the most efficient method
Feb 17, 2010 at 11:25 am
🙂 Been there done that Jim! As you say, effective but not efficient…
Feb 17, 2010 at 9:57 pm
I’ve found it has to be fresh, if it is old and has sat on the shelf, then it gets hard. I like it soft too. I haven’t had hard B-Mix, but I usually want to poke it with my thumb before I purchase it. Ha, probably when they see me coming they hide in the back room.
Sep 25, 2010 at 12:55 pm
I used to throw with B-Mix as well. I noticed it was already suggested but the m-370 is a beautiful clay. It fire off-white and is really smooth and really soft, easy to center and wedge.
I would recommend giving it a try