<p style="text-align: justify;">Choosing your clay can be a little confusing for beginners who do not know what they will need for their work. There are many different clays that come in different colors,textures,and can give you different results with glazes. In this article,we will be discussing how to choose the best clay for you based on color,firing temperature,size of your work,and more.</p>

<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Type of Work</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The type of work you create will decide what you need in a clay. The different types of work include hand building,<a href="https://staging.ceramic.school/how-to-throw-a-plate/">wheel throwing</a>,sculpting,or casting.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Hand building and sculpting require strength and plasticity in a clay body. Strength is needed in order for the clay to hold firm as various shapes are constructed. This means that the clay should have a higher ratio of grog in order to hold shapes and the addition of grog also helps to dry out the clay quicker. Grog can come in fine or Plasticity is needed for the clay to be workable and not crack when forming shapes. The more extreme the shapes are then the more plasticity the clay will need.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Wheel throwing requires plasticity,strength,and water absorption. Plasticity is needed for throwing in order to have workable and moveable clay. The more plasticity in the clay,however,means it will shrink more and can potentially warp while drying. Strength is needed in order to create taller forms while throwing and this means grog is needed. Finer grog is needed however since coarse grog can hurt your hands. Not having grog in your clay can cause it to be short and you will not be able to pull up without the clay basically ripping apart. Water absorption is needed in order for the clay to not collapse when exposed to too much water. It is important to reach a balance between plasticity,strength,and water absorption in order for the clay to not be too hard or too soft.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Casting requires plasticity,strength,and shrinkage. Plasticity is needed in order for the clay to conform to the mold,especially if it is a complicated mold with intricate details and shapes. Strength is needed in order to make sure the clay will keep its shape when drying and not warp. Shrinkage is important since if the clay shrinks too much the cast can potentially crack apart. Striking a good balance between plasticity,strength,and shrinkage is important to make sure the casted clay will not shrink too much or not enough to get out of the mold.</p>

<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Size of Work</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The larger that you create with your work means the more grog you will need in order to support the work. This goes for both hand building and wheel throwing. Wheel throwing clay should have no more than 7-9% of particle additives in order for your hands to not get damaged from the grog. Hand building and sculpting should have around 5-30% grog typically for strength which is important for holding shapes and creating height.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">You need to decide what temperature you will be able to fire your work in order choose a category of clay. If you don’t have a high-fire kiln then you can’t use a high-fire clay. The three ranges that you can fire work to is low-fire,mid-range,and high-fire. Remember to check the maximum firing temperature of your <a id="amznPsBmLink_375829" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" href="http://www.amazon.com/Skutt-1454-KM818/dp/B01LYZ4RAU/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=ceramicschool-20&amp;linkId=ff1d0411037ee4a79afee3976b127db5&amp;linkCode=ktl" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="ceramic kiln for pottery" data-amzn-link-id="ff1d0411037ee4a79afee3976b127db5">kiln</a><img id="amznPsBmPixel_375829" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; height: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&amp;t=ceramicschool-20&amp;bm-id=default&amp;l=ktl&amp;linkId=ff1d0411037ee4a79afee3976b127db5&amp;_cb=1506146942174" alt="" width="0" height="0" border="0" /><img id="amznPsBmPixel_3017495" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; height: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&amp;t=ceramicschool-20&amp;bm-id=default&amp;l=ktl&amp;linkId=808fe7c0e23320a2fa3ae0522999ef26&amp;_cb=1506146699079" alt="" width="0" height="0" border="0" /><img id="amznPsBmPixel_1918223" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; height: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&amp;t=ceramicschool-20&amp;bm-id=default&amp;l=ktl&amp;linkId=be8cbe2b9f6a1596bf7d06c544e56b2d&amp;_cb=1506146285596" alt="" width="0" height="0" border="0" /> and go from there to decide which range to go with</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Low-fire: (1850 °F to 2135 °F) Cone 06 to Cone 3.
Mid-range: (2160 °F to 2290 °F) Cone 4 to Cone 7.
High-fire: (2315 °F to 2380 °F) Cone 8 to Cone 10.</p>

<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Clay Types</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">There are three clay types which are separated by their firing range. These clays can be purchased commercially or you can find a recipe and mix up your own clay as well for specific applications,preferences,and saving money.</p>


[caption id="attachment_16426" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Earthenware.jpg"><img class="wp-image-16426 size-medium" src="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Earthenware-300x200.jpg" alt="earthenware" width="300" height="200" /></a> Earthenware[/caption]
<p style="text-align: justify;">Earthenware <img id="amznPsBmPixel_5443842" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; height: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&amp;t=ceramicschool-20&amp;bm-id=default&amp;l=ktl&amp;linkId=3c8cfaa216f535b5a60c30f1e0ab5185&amp;_cb=1505879219480" alt="" width="0" height="0" border="0" />is the most commonly found clay that is geared towards low-fired work. The reason for this is because of the iron and other mineral impurities that cause the clay to reach hardness at lower temperatures. Earthenware is not recommended for functional work since it is porous and not watertight. Earthenware is recommended for hand building,sculptural work,bricks,tiles,and other work that does not need to be functional.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Stoneware is the most commonly used clay for functional work. Certain stoneware clay can be high-fired,but a lot of the time it is geared towards the mid-fire range. It is important to make sure that your clay is going to the right temperature to ensure vitrification,which is the maturing of clay during firing. This maturing of clay means that it is more durable and waterproof after firing,which is vital for functional work.</p>


[caption id="attachment_16427" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Stoneware-e1505880314299.jpg"><img class="wp-image-16427 size-medium" src="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Stoneware-300x231.jpg" alt="stoneware" width="300" height="231" /></a> Stoneware[/caption]
<p style="text-align: justify;">Porcelain and other clays such as kaolin and ball clay are most commonly used for high-fire work. The downside of this is that it is more expensive to purchase and can be difficult to work with if you are new to clay. Porcelain can be manipulated to achieve translucency and delicate forms,but because of its low plasticity it can crack and deform easily during the drying and firing stages. Though working with porcelain can be difficult the translucency and smoothness of the clay are worth the potential problems that go along with it.</p>

<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Clay Colors</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Clays come in many different colors and mason stains can be added to change the colors of clay more. Earthenware clay is usually red,orange,yellow and light gray. Once fired earthenware clays can become brown,red,orange,buff,medium gray,and white. Fired stoneware clays commonly range from buff to light gray or even brown to dark gray. Porcelain is typically white or pale in color unless it has been mixed with other materials such as iron oxide or mason stains to change the color of the clay. Ball clay is dark gray when moist and then ranges from light gray to light buff once it is fired.</p>

<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Glazing Variations</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Glazes can appear completely different when applied to different clay bodies. Certain glazes can appear much brighter and vivid on light bodies and then darker and not as vivid on darker clay bodies. While other times light glazes can break and show the dark clay body underneath which is very appealing to some more so than a light glaze on a light clay body. Certain materials in the clay will interact with glazes differently as well to create even more variety and differences in the final firing of the work. When a piece is fully matured in the kiln the clay and glaze will actually melt together slightly to create a more united and durable form and this is when the interacting between clay and glaze will occur and create one of a kind reactions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In conclusion,there are many different clays that are used for different work and different preferences. Hand builders usually stick to earthenware,but if they want functional hand built work then might want to use stoneware instead. Meanwhile,potters who wheel thrown might want porcelain,but if it is too finicky for them then stoneware might be a better option. Your preference for colors,shrinkage rate,and firing ranges will hopefully help you decide on the clay to either purchase commercially or make on your own using a recipe. We hope this article gives you an idea of what you need to consider when choosing a clay body to work with.</p>

How to Choose a Pottery Clay

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How to Choose a Pottery Clay

How to Choose a Pottery Clay

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