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offcntrI buy my clay a ton at a time, generally four or five times a year. Usually, the clay is well-aged (I can tell because the company stamps the mixing date on the box), ready to use. This last batch, though. I ordered it in mid-August, and the mix date was... August 2019. It was literally a week old.
Now the thing is, clay plasticity (workability) improves with age. Legend has it that Chinese potters used to lay down clay for their grandchildren, stored in a cool, damp cave. I don't know that it's true, but it is true that clay will benefit from some aging, six months would be good, a year maybe better.
It's also the case that a clay manufacturer mixes the stuff up a little on the wet side, assuming that it'll be sitting on a pallet in a warehouse for six months or a year.
This stuff is kinda short (non-plastic) and just super, sticky wet. Throwing it straight out of the bag is like working putty. The only way I can use it at all is if I pull the block out of the plastic, split it in quarters, and leave them uncovered overnight. Or perhaps all day. Maybe two.
Hence, clayhenge. This is fifty pounds; earlier this weekend, I had seventy-five out. Last week, a couple of days, a hundred.
Seven hundred pounds left of the current order. Hopefully, the next batch will be a little better.
Now the thing is, clay plasticity (workability) improves with age. Legend has it that Chinese potters used to lay down clay for their grandchildren, stored in a cool, damp cave. I don't know that it's true, but it is true that clay will benefit from some aging, six months would be good, a year maybe better.
It's also the case that a clay manufacturer mixes the stuff up a little on the wet side, assuming that it'll be sitting on a pallet in a warehouse for six months or a year.
This stuff is kinda short (non-plastic) and just super, sticky wet. Throwing it straight out of the bag is like working putty. The only way I can use it at all is if I pull the block out of the plastic, split it in quarters, and leave them uncovered overnight. Or perhaps all day. Maybe two.
Hence, clayhenge. This is fifty pounds; earlier this weekend, I had seventy-five out. Last week, a couple of days, a hundred.
Seven hundred pounds left of the current order. Hopefully, the next batch will be a little better.