How to Pick Clay for Pottery

Pottery-making is a popular hobby and a wonderful expression of creativity. Whether you’re building pieces by hand or using the coil method or the pottery wheel, an important part of the creative process is to select the pottery clay as this will significantly influence the final look of your piece. Used to make the three categories of pottery--earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain--pottery clays differ in color, plasticity and how they respond to firing, a process of baking the clay in a kiln under intense heat to render it permanently solid. The following steps describe the basic characteristics of the different types of clay and how to choose from among them.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Choosing a Clay for Pottery

1. Choose your clay based on what you want to make and your experience. A clay’s “plasticity” refers to how easy it is to work with, or how malleable it is. If you are new to working with clay, choose one with high plasticity to allow you to more easily experiment and correct your work.

2. Consider the degree of shrinkage. Clay is earth and water. The more water a clay has the greater the shrinkage when it is fired. This can affect the appearance of the finished piece and influence your choice of clay.

3. Know your clay’s characteristics. There are six common types of clay. These are kaolin, fire clay, ball clay, earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Each has specific characteristics, and potters may even combine different clays to achieve certain affects.

4. Buy clay in bulk. It is often cheaper, especially when buying from a supplier which often carries a variety of clay types and may custom mix them for you. Clay can be purchased wet or dry. Consult the clay supplier on which clay is best for your project. Be prepared to discuss what you want to make, how it is going to be fired, if you want to use glazes, if it is for food use or decorative and so on.

5. Choose your clay on what you want the final appearance to be. Some clays are lighter in color and will have a smoother finish. Others are more coarse or grainy, depending on where they source from. Grainy clays will remain grainy all the way to the finished product.

Tips & Warnings

• Dry clays are more easily mixed prior to adding water for a more balanced consistency--but they take time and effort to make smooth and blend.
• Wet clays are heavier to transport but are ready to use.

Resources

• Clay supplies.
• Clay Times
• Different types of clay.