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We use a variety of clays in our pottery, some of them rather unusual, and are developing our our historical look-alikes. Each also lends itself to different shapes or purposes, given its particular nature and properties. Below are some descriptions of the clays plus, eventually, an example of each. Care of the Pottery Our pottery is safe for the oven, microwave, and dishwasher. The patterns will not wear off since they are under the shiny over-glaze. made to be sturdy enough for years of traveling to and from wars and feasts, we personally just layer our pottery dishes in napkins or terry-cloth towels for transport so they don't rattle about--and they generally go home in the ice-chest. We pack our stock in the table clothes you see them displayed on. The Clays B-Mix 5: a cone five formulation of a smooth, creamy white clay, this one comes in three varieties: plain, with sand, and with grog. We generally use it in its straight form without added grit. This is the clay that will give the brightest, clearest colors from the under-glazes and glazes. While in period, very few pieces were made of a white clay such as this because deposits of this nature were relatively rare, white slip was often used to coat and hide a darker, less decorate-able clays.
Cassius: an unusual very black clay that develops a slight sheen at cone five. It reacts in intriguing ways with both under-glazes and glazes, making its design possibilities different than other clays, and is what one would call "ornery." It has wonderful thermal properties, keeping ice in your cup in summer twice as long as other clays, and is as vitreous as porcelain. It is also one of the most durable clays. In period, a "black" surface was often the result of wood-firing the pottery or certain easy-to-obtain surface treatments; Cassius is a good look-alike for those very period finishes.
Hawaiian Red: this is a deep red cone five stoneware that is equivalent to Soldate in coarseness and durability. It turns a pleasing medium brown under a simple clear glaze, which is another commonly mentioned clay hue in period.
Navajo Red: this is a smoother red clay, more closely resembling B-mix in consistency and tendency for graceful curves and detail work, that gives a brighter tone than the Hawaiian Red.
Porcelain: we use a few different cone five varieties, unlike the more common type that fires well above cone ten, but all are very smooth and white. As this in far from period for the west--and using it is often compared to trying to shape cream cheese--we do not often use porcelains at this time.
Soldate: a fairly coarse, deep-creamy colored stoneware clay that can fire to cone ten, but is vitreous at cone five. It has good strength and great workability--and for those who wish to cook in pottery in the period fashion, it has one of the best thermal-shock resistances. This resembles visually any number of clay bodies used in the past that come under the description in texts as a "coarse/sandy buff fabric." This also has to be our most popular and versatile clay, with everything from many custom orders to cookware made from it.
Recycle: born of the "glop bucket," this is a highly variable mix of all the other clays we use--the scraps and extra unusable lumps that are water-slaked, wedged, and reborn as fresh, new usable clay. Often a sort of toasty color and of medium consistency (as it is a blend or average of all the other clays), it tends to have a period appearance. After all, why dig and work more clay when you can reconstitute you scraps.
Contact Us.S. Schmidt of Reannag Teine.
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