Struggles with Brown Clay
I really do love this brown clay, it has such a loamy, deep color that I've only seen in rich, umber oil colors.
But it's just so finicky and I haven't found a way to tame it yet.
I've made twenty or so jars and a handful of planters using this brown clay. A lot of the times it cracks on the rim after being fired. Or hairline cracks surface along the body.
Sometimes pieces I attach pop off during firing.
If anyone read my other post about the clay teapot and battling the hairline crack, this is my second week trying to come out victorious.
I rehydrated the brown clay body and then used slip mixed with vinegar and toilet paper and then vigorously agitated the crack (which was creeping all along the underside of the teapot) before patching it up.
As expected, it kept reappearing, and I kept patching.
It was so stubborn!
So far, I've managed to seal the crack(s), but I have that deep, unsettling feeling that it will prevail once the teapot is fired...which will be this week...
Ehh, sometimes, I think I should just relent and bow down to the all mighty cracks in my brown clay and only think about my future projects and not dwell on the mistakes.
Love,
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