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Stages of Clay
By Alana Hall
Dry Stage
Stage 1
Dry clay is made up of fine particles that had been formed millions of years ago from volcanic ash. The most commonly used dry clay in pottery is called Ball Clay. Ball Clays usually contain quartz, titanium, mica, kaolinite, iron, and other minerals. There is also Kaolin China Clay, Red Clay, and Gold Art Fire Clay just to name a few.
Slip
Stage 2
The slip stage is created by adding water to your clay. The level of runniness depends on what you are doing with the slip. There are many ways you can use a slip.
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when you’re attaching handles, hand-building, and adding other decorative pieces to your pottery. This is known as scoring and slipping (scratch criss-cross lines in the areas to be attached and apply slip
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Plastic
This is where the clay hits the wheel or the slab roller. At this stage, your clay is malleable (flexible), and you are able to create something on the wheel or hand build. When the clay is at this stage, the shapes you can mold your clay into are endless. After this stage, the molding is over. You can trim, attach, and decorate, but the ability to move the clay around is gone. If you try, your clay will start to crack.
Stage 3
TIMELINE
2019
TIMELINE
Leather Hard
Stage 4
The leather hard stage is when the clay is hardened a little more so you can trim, add handles, and make other alterations before the clay gets too hard. The clay is called leather hard because it has the feel of soft leather. The clay has stiffened up enough to be able to handle it without marking it up with your fingers.
Your clay should be at the right stage of leather hard. If it’s too soft, the clay will be too mushy to trim properly, and the handles will not be able to stay attached to the mug or cup. If your clay gets too dry, it will be hard to put attachments on and impossible to trim.
USE IT!
Stage 8
Bone Dry
The bone dry stage is when the moisture is out of the clay, and it’s dry enough to bisque fire. This process can take at least a week or even longer, depending on the climate you live in. If it is very humid, you have to exercise patience. Getting your clay to the bone-dry stage is very important. If you think it’s dry, it’s best to wait a little longer just to be safe.
Stage 5
You can also apply underglaze to bone-dry clay. When applying, you want to apply 2 to 3 coats. Make sure each coat is totally dry before applying the next.
Bisqueware
Stage 6
The bisque stage is when the clay is fired in the kiln between Cone 08 (1728F) and Cone 04 (1945F) to remove any chemically bonded water and impurities from the clay. This causes the clay to change permanently, making it much harder but still porous enough to absorb the glazes nicely.
Glaze
Stage 7
This stage is where the magic happens. The glazes you have applied melts to the pottery and vitrifies, creating beautiful colors and patterns. Waiting to see the results of the glazes you have applied is exciting. The final fire can be done in different ways. If you are gas firing or electric firing, the most important thing you need to know is temperature.