Step-by-step… processing my reclaimed clay this afternoon! It has set out in a plaster bat for awhile and is finally a good “clay” consistency. I like to layer it with some fresh new B-clay. Thin layers of each, sliced in half, stacked, squished, repeat. It incorporates both clays quickly with just a bit of wedging at the end. When it comes to using this reclaimed clay, it will all get a full wedging then!

Time to turn out another huge batch of reclaimed clay in my studio. It’s been a busy season making lots of pots for the holidays… which means lots of trimming… which means lots of RECLAIM!!!

A beautiful blue-sky bike ride north into Evanston… which just happened to take me past this amazing house on the corner or Lake & Hinman! Terra cotta craftsmanship like you’ve never seen before. Exquisite design & craftsmanship… they don’t make ’em like they used to!

Yep, a nice pile of reclaimed porcelain clay setting up in the studio. All from a bunch of dried scraps from a potter-friend up in Minnesota who doesn’t reclaim… but does save the scraps for ME!!! Can’t wait to start playing with nice some white clay!!!

Time to get a little “dirty” in the studio this morning… breaking out the terra cotta clay for some special pieces. ART IN THE GARDEN is just two weeks away!

I came into my summer camp room to find that some adult student from last night left us a little “present” in the splash pan of one of the wheels! And yet somehow the kids always get blamed for leaving a mess? They don’t even use that kind of clay!!!

Plus, I have confidence… and I would easily bank on my summer campers cleaning better than most!!! They’re great when it comes to clean-up. I just wish everyone followed Gary’s Summer Camp Rule #3… “Whatever mess you make, you WILL be cleaning up!” Adults included…

After playing outside most of the day, I felt a little “uninspired” in the studio tonight. So I decided it was the perfect chance to start reclaiming a bunch of dried porcelain scraps. So I spent the night banging, pounding & pulverizing… then submerging in my reclaim bin to slake down. Feels good to get this task done, as I brought all of this dried clay home from Minnesota back in May… thanks to a potter-friend up there who doesn’t reclaim her own clay & knows that I am more than willing to put in the extra work for some FREE CLAY!!!

A little Sunday night spruce-up in my studio. I trimmed & slip-painted a few class demo pieces, did some cleaning & pulled out a LOT of reclaimed clay onto my large plaster bat. It’s going to take a couple days for this gloppy pile to dry out a bit before I can start wedging it back into usable clay. But you know it’s my favorite… FREE CLAY!!!

Spent part of this weekend “working” in the studio reclaiming some dried clay. Trimmings, broken pieces & some class demos that “went bad.” Smashing, crushing & pulverizing bone dry clay can be kinda fun. Then I add it to my reclaim bin with slurry & water. Let it soak & slake down… soon enough I’ll turn it out into a large plaster bat. And voila’… FREE CLAY!!!

Huge THANKS to DiamondCore Tools for celebrating NATIONAL CLAY WEEK… and for spotlighting some of my work in their latest e-mail blast. You know I’ve loved my DiamondCore Tools from the very start… and it has been great to see their product lines continue to grow & change with us potters in mind! Whether you’re carving, trimming, grinding or smoothing… DiamondCore Tools will have what you need!!! And what better way to celebrate NATIONAL CLAY WEEK than with some new pottery tools?!