How to Get Clay Soft
Before beginning your pottery project, your clay must be kneaded into a workable consistency --- a process called wedging. Wedging serves three important purposes. First, it removes air bubbles which must be eliminated from the clay before firing. Wedging also homogenizes the clay, blending harder areas with softer areas to create a uniform consistency throughout the mass of clay. Last, wedging the clay is important because it works out excess moisture to get the clay to the correct texture.
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Instructions
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Cut your clay into manageable portions --- try it first with a ball of clay about the size of a grapefruit.
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Place a lump of clay on your wedging surface. A wedging table should be canvas, plaster or compressed wood. It needs to be low enough for you to put your weight over it as it takes a considerable amount of pressure to knead the clay.
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Place your hands on each side of the clay with your thumbs on top and your fingertips facing each other to perform "ram's head" wedging. This is a basic method that is relatively easy to learn compared to some other methods.
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Compress the clay down toward the table and away from yourself, using a rocking motion with your body. Roll the lump of clay back toward you about a quarter turn and compress it again with the same motion. Continue compressing and rolling the clay several more times. Each time you compress the clay, it's shape should roughly resemble a ram's head, hence the name.
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Slice through the middle of the wedged clay with a wire cutter and observe the cut surface to see if any air bubbles are present. If there are bubbles, continue wedging and check again until the clay is smooth and uniform.
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Tips & Warnings
If you need very soft clay for joining pieces together, use slip. Slip is clay that is watered down into a slippery mud.
As you gain more skill with wedging you can work with larger lumps at a time. Some potters work with lumps of clay up to 20 lb., using more advanced methods of wedging.
References
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