{"id":47,"date":"2025-03-28T00:16:42","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T00:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/361pottery\/?p=47"},"modified":"2025-04-01T19:45:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T19:45:04","slug":"step-2-processing-the-clay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/361pottery\/step-2-processing-the-clay\/","title":{"rendered":"Step 2: Processing the Clay!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cPottery – the first material that humans changed from a natural form into an artificial material\u201d (English Heritage, YouTube video 2017)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After digging up the clay on Alex\u2019s family’s property in Duncan, it was time to process it and prep it for sculpting. Right away we were faced with the challenges that come along with working with raw unprocessed materials, as medieval potters would have in the past. The clay was quite wet, and it contained rocks, roots, other debris, and even worms. Upon researching this topic our group learned how important it is to properly process and prepare raw clay before starting the sculpting process. The photo below is the clay before <\/strong>processing, and the videos following are the clay during<\/strong> and after<\/strong> processing. You can see the drastic difference in workability between consistencies, one very sticky and wet, and the other holding shape, less sticky and more mouldable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is the clay before processing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Processing clay, step by step:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without the following steps, we risk the clay being too weak to work with, and\/or breaking once fired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: <\/strong><\/em>Collecting and assessing the clay<\/p>\n\n\n\n