The Blanket Creek Production Process: Clay Production

Mixer

Clay Production

The process begins with an industrial clay mixer designed for 450 pound batches. Producing clay on the premises enables me to formulate the clay body specifically for this product line and select the most consisent raw materials. Although many commerically-produced clays are available, they generally require the potter to revolve his entire business around the realm of possibilities associated with the particular one he chooses. For example, a clay body with excellent plasticity for wheel-throwing which also accentuates the fired glazes in an especially nice way may be prone to cracking during the drying, firing or cooling process (or even all three!). This could result in unrealistically long delays in the process that the potter must either work around or accept a high percentage of losses.

My own research into commercial clay bodies led me to conclude that most are formulated for student use simply because schools are the biggest customers. Students often select a clay body based on workability and appearance of the finished pots, whereas a studio potter has also to take responsibilty for how well the ware holds up over the course of daily functional use.

Mixer - Top view

Why We Produce Our Own Clay

I realized early on that i could not purchase a pre-mixed clay that was suitable for my needs so I decided to formulate the clay body specifically for this product line and the customized system i rely upon to produce it. Most pots are placed in electric kilns as soon as they are leather hard, rather than set on shelves to air dry (which is more common amung studio potters). I spent years testing and modifying my clay body to get it to withstand this kind of abuse while also retaining a reasonable degree of workability. Extenive research and calculation was also required to eliminate various glaze flaws, as the clay has a major affect on how the fired glazes come out.

To makes things more complex, i had a very different set of factors to consider when formulating this body to make it ideal for oven use (and still more to consider for microwaving). The relentless perfectionist in tested close to 100 different variations of the body i presently use in order to get it "just right". For the benefit of other potters, I have provided the general formula at the bottom of this page.

De-airing Pug Mill

How Our Clay is Different

To complete the mixing process, the clay is run through a vacuum de-airing pugmill. This one was constructed from a section of 8" pipe and has an auger that revolves inside, grinding and mixing the clay as it pushes it forward through a set of stainless steel screens that shred it like spaghetti. At that point it passes through a vacuum chamber that removes virtually all the air from the clay before extruding it out the nozzle, ready to use. This greatly improves the workability of the clay and eliminates the need to "wedge" the clay repeatedly, which is a strenuous and time consuming process that detracts from production work.

Blanket Creek Pottery clay body (cone 11)

TOTAL: 100

ADD:

Next step: Glazing >>

[ return to top ]