Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 37

Thread: backyard potters

  1. #1
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    31º4.3'N, 84º52.7'W
    Posts
    3,969
    Blog Entries
    7

    Default backyard potters

    Okay, so after a long learning process, I got the opportunity to meet up with a fella at the Kolomoki Festival last weekend who was open firing some pottery. Since we arrived very shortly after the park opened, I was afforded the opportunity to watch the process all day long. I asked questions to the point of almost being annoying, but Mr. Stuckey was extremely helpful with information rooted deeply in historical research of my area.
    Some of the pottery he was firing, actually still had rocks in it. Lesson 1: Your clay does not need to be perfectly clean. some sand is necessary, and many impurities will fire perfectly fine without all the extra water extraction (read work).
    I stayed until he was about to let the fire go out and smolder for the night. I learned about literally creeping the pottery into the fire, why it changes colors in the smoke, and that historically Natives used what they had. Mr. Stuckey said very plainly, "If they had good clay, they made good pottery; If they had bad clay, they made bad pottery." Mostly utilitarian, often decorative, and seldom eccentric. KISS!

    So.. a few months ago, I made some pottery out of clay I extracted and let dry. It's been too darn hot to build a fire and tend it all day long, so with temps lowering into the high 80s in the afternoons, I decided yesterday was a good day to start a fire, and try my hand at it again. It was a bit windy. Normally a pit would be dug, but wouldn't you know it... the road department already did that for me! so I went out to the ditch beside the road with a sliver of fat lighter, some dead pecan limbs and twigs, and got me a nice bed of coals, then surrounded it with some nice oak logs to hold the coals.

    Here's the pottery at the start:
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    Fire lit to drive off the dew and any ambient moisture. I used a small piece of plywood to do the extra drying of the pottery before it went into the fire.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    This posture was maintained for about 2 hours to make sure the ground was dry. I then removed the plywood, set the pottery straight on the ground to be inched closer and closer to the fire. I waited from 9 am, when I started the fire until 1 pm till I put the clay actually all the way in the coals. I took some pictures of the color change, but they were too blurry and smoky to tell any difference. So here they are in the fire.. I know you can't actually see them.. but they are in there and glowing as red as the coals in the fire.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    I let them cook till 5 pm then let the fire go out till it was just a big pile of hot coals and ash. It was still windy so I made sure to pile up coals from the perimeter on top of the pottery and walked away.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    I left them to cool overnight and will be pulling them out as soon as it's light enough outside to see what I'm doing.
    I made a test disk to check shrinkage, so it will be interesting to see how much this clay can tolerate.
    I will take some pictures as I take them out and wash them off so stay tuned to see how it goes. I think they survived and I'm really excited.. It truly is a test of patience.
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. Helen Keller

    My Plants
    My skills
    Eye Candy
    Plant terminology reference!
    Moving pictures


  2. #2
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    Looking forward to seeing how they tun out.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  3. #3
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    31º4.3'N, 84º52.7'W
    Posts
    3,969
    Blog Entries
    7

    Default

    too hot to wash off yet, but cool enough to dig out of the fire with my hands. They all cracked.. bummer. Pics coming as soon as I get 'em washed off.

    somehow... the test slab to check for shrinkage is the only piece that didn't break...

  4. #4
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    31º4.3'N, 84º52.7'W
    Posts
    3,969
    Blog Entries
    7

    Default

    still in the ash bed
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    after being washed off. I like the cloudy effect. I don't like the cracked effect...
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    Oh well... I guess if you never try you never fail.
    This is exactly what Mr. Stuckey said would happen... My clay was TOO clean. Everywhere that a hairline fracture started, it never encountered a solid mass to make it stop. a grain of sand, a piece of grog (temper).. The clay was just too darn clean to fire properly. I think I'll see about finding some clean sand, prefiring the sand, and dirtying my clay again.
    Hunting season is upon us so it might be a while before I make another attempt, but I will not soon forget the lessons learned.

    Oh yeah.. I forgot to mention, the dish was a pinch-pot, and the ewer and cup were coils.
    Last edited by crashdive123; 10-09-2014 at 09:03 PM.

  5. #5
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    31º4.3'N, 84º52.7'W
    Posts
    3,969
    Blog Entries
    7

    Default

    I might add, that these are completely and properly fired. Immersion in water to wash off the ash did not turn them back to mud, so the firing was successful in that respect.. now I just need to get the clay right.

  6. #6
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    Did you rotate the pots as you inched them toward the fire? I'm not suggesting that would have stopped the cracking just wondering how you moved them. It seems that rotating would help dry evenly all the way around.

    Sometimes failures offer up the best lessons if we learn from them. Another great job. I don't think there is anything wilderness related you can't do. Great post and some rep your way.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  7. #7
    Senior Member gryffynklm's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    West Virginia
    Posts
    2,084

    Default

    Great post. Thanks YCC
    Karl

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion the the effort he puts into whatever field of endeavor he chooses. Vincent T Lombardi

    A wise man profits from the wisdom of others.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Middle England
    Posts
    5,785
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    That looks pretty neat, another good job.
    A while ago, I saw a chap making pots from string that had been soaked in runny clay that was a bit thicker than slip. He wound the string over a mould, making sure there were no gaps. It must have been fired, because some of his stuff was being used as a jug, and vase. I've done a quick google, but as yet have had no luck finding anything. Perhaps your mentor may know the method?
    Recession; A period when you go without something your Grandparents never heard of.

  9. #9

  10. #10
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    I would think the string would hold the clay together and probably burn up in the firing leaving only the pot.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  11. #11
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    31º4.3'N, 84º52.7'W
    Posts
    3,969
    Blog Entries
    7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Winnie View Post
    That looks pretty neat, another good job.
    A while ago, I saw a chap making pots from string that had been soaked in runny clay that was a bit thicker than slip. He wound the string over a mould, making sure there were no gaps. It must have been fired, because some of his stuff was being used as a jug, and vase. I've done a quick google, but as yet have had no luck finding anything. Perhaps your mentor may know the method?
    Mr. Stuckey showed me some pottery that was tempered with spanish moss, that was sort of used like string and temper at the same time. He indicated that this was a much better pot for cooking BECAUSE of the gaps left in the walls of the pot. They would allow more expansion and contraction room and would take the shock of repeated cooking more evenly. Though it was more porous this way, the pot he made he said he's been using for years, and the broken pieces he showed me (where he got the idea) were from an excavation around Apalachicola.
    Old pots that were of an ideal shape were coated with this slippy-moss concoction, and a thicker muddy-moss then packed on top of that (inside the pot or bowl, so it would dry away from the mold). upon firing the moss burned away leaving an ideal cooking vessel.
    It makes me wonder if I should try the sand next, or the moss, but since sand is plentiful around here I think I'll go with the sand method first, then try some moss/grass as temper to see how it goes.

    Another great thing about this forum is this right here.. bouncing ideas off one another!

    Winnie, you might try searching for "pottery of the Apalachicola" or "...Lower Chattahoochee Valley". I have not searched it myself, but apparently it is a method people know about, so there must be something to it!
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. Helen Keller

    My Plants
    My skills
    Eye Candy
    Plant terminology reference!
    Moving pictures

  12. #12
    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Middle England
    Posts
    5,785
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    Thanks for that YCC, I'll have a look.
    Recession; A period when you go without something your Grandparents never heard of.

  13. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    woods of east texas
    Posts
    838

    Default

    Ycc I used to go to alot of rendevous when I lived up north and there was a guy that used what he called a plains indian method for firing his clay pieces. Most of it was the same as what you put forth here but I do remember that he always mixed crushed clam shells in with the clay. He told me that the shell had alot to do with his pieces not cracking. I would imagine sand would work in the same manner. Keep up the good work. Time and repetition are great teachers.

    oldtrap
    Last edited by oldtrap59; 10-14-2010 at 04:30 PM.

  14. #14
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    YCC - Here's a link to Georgia Indian Pottery. It lists not only a myriad of types of pottery and where they were found but it also has a lot of references, some of which you might be able to get through your library system. It's through the University of Georgia so there may be some contacts through them that could answer some questions.

    http://shapiro.anthro.uga.edu/GIP/index.php/home.html
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  15. #15

    Default

    Another awesome thread,ycc.Thanks.
    I know you'll get it figured out.Maybe when sitting next to a fire or working next to it will be more comfortable when the weather cools.
    It was 38 deg. this morning at my house.

  16. #16
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    31º4.3'N, 84º52.7'W
    Posts
    3,969
    Blog Entries
    7

    Default

    Thanks a bunch Rick.. Time to do some homework!!

  17. #17
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    31º4.3'N, 84º52.7'W
    Posts
    3,969
    Blog Entries
    7

    Default

    n.d. Excavations at the Fairchilds Landing Site. University of Georgia, Department of Anthropology, Laboratory of Archaeology Manuscript.
    That is just right down the road and I had no idea there was a mound there... very interesting! It's WMA so I can go hike the area, tho all the forest there has been a pine plantation for ooohhh.. about 45 years now. The private landowner that owns the land surrounding it just cleared the woods this year.
    I'm gonna see if I can get my hands on a copy of this text as it is a location that very well could have been some of the natives that lived in my neighborhood. We fish there very often!
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. Helen Keller

    My Plants
    My skills
    Eye Candy
    Plant terminology reference!
    Moving pictures

  18. #18
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    31º4.3'N, 84º52.7'W
    Posts
    3,969
    Blog Entries
    7

    Default

    Sears, William H.
    1950 The Cultural Position of Kolomoki in the Southeast. PhD Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan.
    1951 Excavations at Kolomoki, Season I. University of Georgia, Series in Anthropology 2. University of Georgia Press, Athens.
    1952 Ceramic Development in the South Appalachian Province. American Antiquity 18(2):101-110.
    1956 Excavations at Kolomoki, Final Report. University of Georgia Series in Anthropology 5. University of Georgia Press, Athens
    Kolomoki is where the festival was held last weekend.. gotta get my hands on that one too!!

    Sears, William H., and James B Griffin
    1950 Fiber-Tempered Pottery of the Southeast. In Prehistoric Pottery of the Eastern United States, edited by James B. Griffin, pp. 200-202. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor
    And this is the one I think we are referencing with the moss/string!

    You are one resourceful fella, Rick!

  19. #19
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    I learned a long time ago that you don't have to know everything you just have to know where to find information on everything. Huge difference.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  20. #20

    Default

    YCC, check out Raku clay bodies.
    Here's a start on the terminology.
    http://pottery.about.com/od/diyclayb.../raku_clay.htm
    We used to do Raku firings out in the parking lot at school. We used a gas kiln though, not fire.

    The fun part was taking the glazed wares out with the tongs and dropping them into a trash can full of wood shavings to get the glazes to shine. When the smoke was manageable, we quenched them in water. A good raku clay can take that. I remember one time we tried ruined film negatives from the photography class (there's showing my age) mixed in with the shavings and we got this silver gray metallic almost gun metal look to the glaze (and probably a dose of fumes no one should ever breathe). Unfortunately I haven't seen the recipe box for clay mixes in years. I don't think it made it through my last move out. And I know there was a brown raku clay body mix in there. Sorry man.

    Your coords put you in prime clay country. With a little research and some experimentation, you should get a functional product eventually. It's all about the mix, the drying, making sure you have no air voids, having a consistant wall thickness around the pot (you can get thinner as you go up but keep the thickness consistent around the perimeter.)

    When building your pot, melt some of your clay in water. Use the slurry to bind your coils instead of just straight water.

    Man, I haven't done this stuff in years. Post up some more pics!
    Last edited by LowKey; 10-15-2010 at 07:57 PM.

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •