Wild Clay with Anja Slapničar

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Monday – Friday, 12th – 16th of August, 9am- 12pm with Anja Slapničar

In this course you will be exploring and processing local clays and testing and developing claybody mixtures.

What is clay, really? It is a combination of the smallest rock particles and leafy sheets, connected by inner forces and water. It is a plastic material. We can take pure clay minerals and add other materials of different sizes and chemical compositions. We can mix together an infinite range of inorganic matter prepared to suit our needs: plasticity, colour, texture, transparency and so on. And the interesting part of it all is that we can source it all around us, locally and under our feet. We try to be sustainable, unique and local.

Day 1
We will spend the first day researching materials: local geology and basic ingredients for clay body mixtures of both collected and commercial materials.

Day 2
We will start preparing and processing clays and sands for further testing and making primary tests. We will make tiles.

Day 3
We will begin by analysing fired primary tests. Then we will test functionality of collected clays by casting them into simple plaster moulds, both raw clays and clays with added local sands.

Day 4
Based on primary tests we will prepare secondary tests, for which we will learn about line blend technique. We will form them into tiles and fire them.

Day 5
On our last day we will reflect on the best ways to find and collect local geology and learn how to read topographical and geological maps as our basic guides to determine where to find materials in nature. We will open the kiln and analyze final tests and suggest improvements. We will place all the collected tests together and discuss it at a round table, which will also allow for addressing final questions and uncertainties.

You will learn how to develop your own clay body, fire test samples and make and fire small, test pieces.
Materials and firing costs are included.
The workshop is suitable for both beginners and experienced potters.