Additions to Clay: Creating Texture with Stone, Sand, Grog + Other Materials
Workshop Timing Overview
30 min: Intro & Overview – Safety concerns & why add aggregate?
45 min: Types of Materials – Test demo & fired results
15 min: Break
60 min: Adding Material to Clay – Wedging & Handbuilding demos
30 min: Questions & Wrap-Up
Workshop PDFs
About This Workshop
In this workshop we will introduce a variety of stones, sand, grog, and organic material that can be easily foraged, purchased, or made in the studio and added to any clay body to achieve a broader range of textures and results. We will demonstrate techniques for processing, testing, and incorporating them using three different wedging methods. To conclude, we will demonstrate how these additions respond to different handbuilding techniques.
This course will include a .pdf materials guide outlining basic materials, where to find them, and typical (cone six) fired results.
For this workshop, we recommend watching during the live session, then trying the techniques on your own after the session has finished.
Live workshop held April 24, 2021
Materials don’t need to be purchased from the links provided. Seek out local purchasing options or forage from nature if possible.
Please Avoid the Following Materials:
asphalt or anything with questionable chemical compounds
concrete or anything cement-based
bone
shells
limestone
ashes
any calcium-carbonate material
Tool List:
paper and pen for notes
whatever clay the artist typically uses (10-20 lb.)
old pillowcase or bedsheet (will be cut to approximately 3x3 feet)
sieve/screen (kitchen sieve is fine)
rolling pin (or wooden dowel)
fettling knife (any blade that will cut clay)
wire tool (or wire)
hammer
safety glasses
respirator (or dust mask)
bucket with water
old towel for cleaning
other buckets, plastic cups or bowls to hold materials
Sample Material List:
pure silica sand (60 mesh)
commercial grog (whatever mesh size you’d like)
used coffee grounds
any small seed or grain (foraged or purchased is fine; must be raw)
flint- or granite-based chicken grit (can be purchased from garden/agricultural supply store)
* make sure it is not calcium or oyster shell basedgranite sand
'perlite' (can be purchased from garden/agricultural supply store)
*do not use vermiculite. different from
‘pearlite’
old fragments of bisque-fired clay
pumice, basalt, or lava rock (<½”)
About Zoe Powell + Mitch Iburg
Zoë Powell’s work consists of organic sculptural vessels made from clays and minerals she collects and processes herself. She views working with locally sourced materials as an exercise in sustainability and aims to take full responsibility for each material by honoring it throughout the production process. She is interested in psychological pathology and is currently working on a series focused on transitional spaces, and how certain forms can evoke a sense of comfort to an otherwise vulnerable viewer. Zoë graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2016 with a B.A. in Fine Art and a B.S. in Biology. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries around the United States and Europe.
Mitch Iburg is a ceramic artist who works extensively with clays, rocks, and minerals collected directly from the landscape. Through various bodies of work, he aims to promote the intrinsic qualities of Minnesota’s diverse mineral resources and the various natural phenomena that have shaped them. He received his B.A. in Fine Art from Coe College in 2011 and has since worked at studios in Virginia, New York, California, Denmark and Estonia - adapting bodies of work in response to the landscapes and resources inherent to each location. In 2018 he and his partner Zoë Powell established their current workshop, Studio Alluvium in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Studio Alluvium’s mission is to study the state’s unique clay and mineral resources while also promoting the use of local materials in the field of ceramic art. Studio Alluvium builds community by hosting various workshops, allowing artists from all over the world opportunities to come together to learn about natural resources in their areas.