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Wild Clay for Beginners: How to Forage Your Own Pottery Clay

Andy Ward's Ancient Pottery

77,369 views

In which I teach the lost art of finding, harvesting and processing your own pottery clay from nature just like every potter did until 15 minutes ago.
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Wild clay in our grandfather's time
1:55 What is clay?
4:20 What to look for in nature to find clay
5:33 Where to look for clay
8:54 Why you should stay home and watch videos on the internet.
10:28 Some examples of clay out in the wilds
11:54 Different ways of processing clay
13:30 How to dry process clay
15:54 What is temper and why is it important?
18:30 Mixing up dry processed clay
20:14 How to wet process clay
24:25 Mixing up wet processed clay
29:29 Every clay is different, comparing results

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20 Comments

@AncientPottery Creator 9 months ago Pinned

Suggested video title: Clay, toilet paper and dog food walk into a bar..."
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@nancyskinner5207 9 months ago

When I was a girl the dirt along side our driveway was red. After it rained it was very slippery. One day I dug some of it up and made a small pot with an Indian design around the outside. My art teacher fired it and we found there was so much iron in it that it could not be broken. She kept it over the years and showed it to her students when they worked with clay. I found green clay on that same farm. What a treasure!The mountain we lived on had been an Indian lookout long ago. I’m so glad I found your channel.

@rvhill69 9 months ago

Andy is keeping the age old tradition of pot holes alive.

@kern9422 9 months ago

i'm a digital artist so i dont really have much business watching nice pottery videos but those outdoor shots are gorgeous

@KarasuuX 3 days ago

This channel is so fascinating, and honestly calming. Informational youtube sometimes bores me but I could watch these all day. A good combo of humor, information, and a deep understanding. Keep it up man.

@graceepstein3113 3 months ago

Great video Andy!!!

@DutchCreekRanch1 9 months ago

I was amazed to hear you say calcium carbonate in beach sand (seashells) does not work while diatomaceous earth does work -- so I looked it up and the fossilization of those diatoms has turned them to 90% silica. Blew my mind. I always have some on hand for gardening, but never considered using it. Thank you!

@MrDoomperson 9 months ago

Just gonna add this. In Europe, you may want to search for a "malt mill" or "malt grinder" and find the castiron version. This is essentially the same as what Andy is using, and works just fine for clay.

I use castiron meat-grinders from second hand stores, and they chew up smaller rocks as well. Doesn't like flint though, but small granites and such is no problem.

@angeladazlich7145 9 months ago

Our ancestors used the Sears Roebuck catalog

@Dustinlampp 9 months ago

Thank you my yard is pure clay I got 11.5 lbs of usable clay out of a half of a five gallon bucket

@erikrsoto 9 months ago

I love these videos. Thank you for all your hard work Andy. You made my night on a very hard day. Even though I've seen your similar videos before I still learn each time I watch. Case in point I learned again and got more motivation back that I needed in my health struggles which have been horrible. These are great positive tools for me. Thank you again.

@bernarditaruiz7385 2 weeks ago

Thank you ! For your videos, I found clay in my backyard...I am learning with you...Thanks!!!

@PuffTheMagicDragon11B 9 months ago

This made my bad morning so much better

@gilmernunez4973 6 months ago

Muchísimas gracias Andy. Con tu canal aprendí casi todo lo que sé sobre alfarería, y con ello realicé uno de los grandes sueños de mi vida. Gracias y saludos desde Perú.

@runtt21 9 months ago (edited)

Ace hardware needs to sponsor your videos.

@andrearand613 1 month ago

You can use shell as temper as long as it is cooked prior to use. I use to do replicative ceramics of the prehistoric native groups in New England.

@phillipsmith2443 4 months ago

Growing up in Southern Arkansas the rivers ran red with clay sediment. We came out from swimming completely covered in red clay.

@St.ElmosFire259 9 months ago

Andy, thank you for another great video. 💕🌄🎄

@Penrodyn 9 months ago

We have a layer of grey clay that the local creek has cut into. Our house sits on a moraine layer, underneath that is the clay.

@louromero9919 4 months ago

I'm from Tucson and I would always play in the Santa cruz where there's a lot of clay
I grew up in barrio anita a lot of chiltepins grew wild in that neighborhood