Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Leftover Clay

Whenever I make something with clay I have leftover clay. Since I work with soft clay I immediately squish my leftover pieces of clay into balls and knead them to make sure the clay is all melded together. I store the balls in plastic baggies. The clay will stay fresh for about a week, any longer and the balls become too dry to work. I use the balls to make pinch pots, like the bowls above. I also rolled out and cut some feet on the bottom of these bowls.

From part of a leftover slab from the butter dishes I made this small box; it will be a perfect size for a toothpick holder. I added little feet on the bottom. I used a rubber paint texture tool to make the texture on this one. To make a small box like this takes as much time as a very large box.

Realistically I wonder how much I can charge for one of these. Still I decided to make one because I really like the one I use on my kitchen counter.

Sometimes I cut the slabs of clay in strips and make these small bud vases. I added three bun feet to this one, something I haven't done before. Every bit of leftover clay gets used up. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

4 comments:

  1. I recycle my clay a bit differently, dump it into a container of water till it's mostly clay, then pull out the drippy call and let it dry a day on a plaster bat, then wedge it a bit and it's ready to use again in any way I choose. Nothing gets thrown out. If I add it to the studio recycle bin, the same routine is used in larger amounts.

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  2. Hi Barbara, thanks, since I am handbuilding I don't get much soft clay and I never wedge the clay. If I have any that gets too hard I save that for slip.

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  3. Hi Elephant's Child, thanks, somehow not wasting was ingrained in me when I was a child.

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