How To Make Clay At Home (It's Just Dirt)
Making clay is not that hard. Not too long ago it was part of most potters jobs to dig and process all the clay they used. Yet today it is almost a lost art. In this video I show you 3 methods for making clay at home, simply and easily.
Some clay processing equipment
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0:00 What Is Clay?
2:02 Selecting the Right Dirt To Make Clay With
4:58 The 3 Methods For Making Dirt Into Clay
9:03 Tempering Clay So It Won't Crack
#wildclay
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This guy is exactly the kind of fellow i expect to teach me how to make clay
"The clay guy"
I always imagined some blonde emo haired twink wearing black robes with red clouds on them, riding on a giant dragon made out of clay.
I love that he's straightforward and informative. Very helpful!!
So, you were all your life thinking in this moment...
Lol same
I remember digging up clay as a child, but I never really thought much about it. I honestly didn't know that clay is just dirt with a certain particle size. I thought it was a fundamentally different substance.
DUDE me and my cousin when we were kid we found out how to make clay by ourselves and started making so much of it we make pots, cakes a lot of stuff without even knowing taht it was clay! Today i asked her if she remembered how to do it and we have no idea how
To a certain extent, it *is* a fundamentally different substance. The reason clays behave so differently from other soils is because they have different electro-mechanical properties that are *related* to their size. I've never been entirely clear on the exact mechanism for why particles below that 2 micron threshold have different properties, but it's probably related to how they're formed as well as just size. The reason clays behave so differently from silts, sands, gravels, or any other size of soil particle is that they have a tiny charge to the particles just enough to attract a little layer of water (water is a slightly polar molecule, so one end of the water is attracted towards the clay essentially). This is what gives them that plastic behaviour that other soils don't have, and can be both extremely useful and extraordinarily annoying, depending what you're using that soil for. Quite nice for pottery, typically much less so in foundations. One more fun fact about clays, if a soil is made of ~30% clay, it will behave as though it's *all* clays (as far as engineering applications goes, anyways. I'm sure potters would disagree with that assessment)
@@NeptunesOrca nice information, thank you
It's not just dirt with a particular size - it's specifically minerals made of aluminum and silicon. "Dirt" includes organic materials, sand (silicon dioxide, aka quartz) and some other minerals. Clay is present in most dirt, but it's not "just dirt" any more than chocolate chips are "just trail mix" even though trail mix includes chocolate chips.
@@arcaearscorrect. "Dirt," even very fine dirt (more properly called soil) is full of organic matter that would burn off in a kiln, leaving voids. Further, "dirt" would not fuse. That requires a very high proportion of silica.
I wasn't expecting to randomly stop and spend ten minutes learning about clay, but I am very happy that I did.
Glad I could provide a few minutes of diversion
I like how he seals the ziplock bag very neatly like he’s trying to protect the dirt from spoiling
Clay particles are really tiny so if it's dry and in an open top container it's gonna go airborne and coat everything, including the inside of your car
100% efficiency 0 limitations
I was thinking "did he put it in the bed of his oversized truck?" though I did enjoy the video
Its probably to prevent it from getting out not air from getting in....
Though I guess with hindsight he didn't want to get dirt in his car.
This is what KZhead was invented for good honest content. It was the first time I have seen your videos but I have to say It was a really really interesting video. The amount of clay you got from the one with all the grit actually shocked me. Thanks for this video it was really good
Thanks a lot.
I call him the Bob Ross of Pottery. My husband will ask me, "Is that your Pottery Bob Ross?" :D
youtube was invented as a dating site lmao
There should be a comma in between for and good.
Yup
KZhead FINALLY suggests a video I actually want to see. I've been toying with the idea of trying my hand at some primitive pottery using local clay, and up pops this video. A very nice to watch, wholesome, easy to listen to, and educational video. THIS kind of quality content is hard to find. Thank you.
You are most welcome
They Greys are doing that to you!
There’s clay in my backyard
ooo pottery! hope you dont make you pot accidentally go flying across your room!
I have also considered making clay as well because of how much of it is naturally in my local soil. like, when I squeeze wet dirt from my yard it stays in shape. It even feels like clay when I mess with it when wet.
My man is straight up advocating for mental health while showing how to dig for clay. ❤
truth
“Go Outside And Touch Dirt”
i love that you show even the "boring" and tedious work, and that you even tripped and feel. it makes these videos really authentic
Thanks!
All part of the adventure, thank you for a great demonstration!
I love that part. So wholesome. I’ve been so scared to go outside and just have an adventure.
Even though I'll more than likely never have the need to follow this guide, there is something about watching a passionate and experienced person describe how to carry out a task. I find it inspiring to listen to this.
Thanks for watching
Agreed
Got buckets, went outside, got dirt, got water, got filter. 1 hour later I ended up with nice wet clay. Best part is that even if the filter isn't 100% filtering those sand sized particles, crafting with it requires them. The water that goes into the pure clay bucket can be reused over and over again. I wanted to see how much clay was lost to the water, and to my surprise it was none! This is some next level efficiency stuff. This is scalable...might even build a house with it someday and it's basically free! wow, thanks!
Look up videos on building with cob. Very labor intensive building technique but fascinating nonetheless! 👍
I was going to go to sleep but this video drew me in because it’s not just art, it’s science AND an adventure; i love it so much
Now THIS is original KZhead content. So satisfying.
Glad you liked it.
Brick making used to be pretty common in my area (in England, UK) There are local disused Victorian kilns and places called Brickhill and Clay Hill, so I'm pretty sure it should be a good place to find clay soil. Thanks for all the tips!
Interesting, I often use abandoned brick clay quarries in my area to collect clay.
To be honest, I think most of the dirt in the UK is clay.
Yeah, I live on a hill made of clay, abandoned brick pits all over the place
@@AncientPottery ججد ة//ضج
@@PythonPlusPlus very true a lot of dirt under the topsoil is clay
We are making Christmas presents this year. We also had to dig up a ton of red clay soil in our yard. My kids wanted to make gifts out of clay. Since we are broke, I looked up videos on how to utilize what we had in our yard. Your video was the BEST one! It is SO good that I was able to use it for homeschooling. We took notes and everything. The layout and instructions are so great. We are about to drain the water to see if there is any clay at the bottom. Wish us luck!
I hope it all comes out great
We have a powwow at the onigum native reservation every year, and there's all kinds of vendors selling blankets, hoodies, poncho's, drums, artwork, and especially clay pottery, there was a traveller who comes to the powwow every year selling handcrafted artwork that a group of Navajo women made out in Montana, I bought a jewelry box with The End of the Trail painted on it. I loved buying from this guy because he wasn't just selling it to make a buck, he was selling it so he could feed his people back home and make a living. Thank you for sharing your trades with the internet man, people could really learn a lot from you.
Thanks, I also love supporting artists like that. I never buy Native art from dealers or shops but always buy from the artists themselves.
This man's videos are priceless! He shows even poor people how to do things without having to buy stuff. He's not pushing us to buy a bunch of junk and teaching us skills,not only to make as gifts,but in a survival situation,could literally save your life
Thanks glad to help
Fortunately, my mother knew how to do this, as she learned from her grandparents, how to make vessels from clay taken from the river. When I was a child, I would wade in the river and then sit up on the bank in the middle of the river where other people had taken clay and made structures drying in the sun. It was a rich blue-grey colored clay and was excellent for hand building, and probably would've done well on a wheel too.
That's awesome ,thanks for sharing your story.
Z🚽
So nice to hear you wanting to share the rather simplistic side of pottery that was never properly addressed when taking Pottery A-levels. A very important part of a process that becomes your own from the very start. Thank you ☺
You're welcome
Me who was disappointed on how i prob didnt have clay but after hearing the clay “how to find” part I learned i have the equivalent of a gold mine but in clay
I have never been interested in pottery in my life. But you have such a beautiful narration that I couldn't stop myself from watching the video.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it
How is it this was never taught in pottery class? We really need to keep all ties to the past. I always thought you had to find a creek bed or dig deep for clay. This was very informative
Thanks
I am thankful we had the clay recycling thing happening at our studio. I loved to grab the white and black porcelain out of the buckets. I didnt know these tips so I had a lot more trouble with it though.
You have to dig for clay or find a river bank in many regions
That's what big clay wants you to think!
@@annasolovyeva1013 Indeed. I suspect it also has something to do with the quantity you are looking for
Man, living in Florida on a sandbar hasn't bummed me out until clayware became interesting
watched this last evening, ran out with shovel and pail at 10pm in full moonlight, got a pail of our dirt, sifted and left in water overnight. This morning added diatomaceous and wow, I have really beautiful clay. So excited to to go to the next step. Thank you so much for your channel!
That's awesome
I love this! This is 100% me. My husband will come out after he & my son lay down for bed & he “catches” me playing in the dirt hahahah. He just looks at me like…wow. It’s my dirty little secret aye!
Very cool. Reminded me of about 65 years ago when I would collect clay from dried river bottoms. At school they told us where to get it. We did not process it other than getting it wet, rolling into rope like strings and then spiraling them to make pottery.
awesome, thanks for sharing.
the river has processed it for you!
@@jessehunter362 Exactly but it may need temper if the river processed it too well
The coil method I remember it well
I use to get this red clay in Greensburg Louisiana on the old CC roads
For pounding/grinding on your countertop: Consider a molcajete. It's basically a gigantic mortar and pestle, literally designed for pounding things into a powder/paste.
Another note is that because clay sticks to itself so well, it can become a little hydrophobic-- it's not shown a lot in the video but when the water is mixed with dirt #1 it doesn't absorb the water as much or as fast as sandy or silty dirt would. This is why where I live in Northern California, we go from blazing wildfire to high floods in a matter of months-- the baked dirt, which is high in clay, doesn't absorb the heavy rainfall in the winter.
Yes I am familiar with hydrophobic soils. Some clays are like that and sone aren’t. I used to fight forest fires and we often dealt with that problem.
This isn't quite "hydrophobic" behaviour, but rather the result of clays having very small pore sizes between the soil particles. This means that water takes a really long time to travel through the pore network of clayey soils, and also a really long time to absorb into it. Larger soil particles, such as sands, have much larger pore sizes, and can move water around much more quickly as a result. This has some really interesting consequences in civil engineering applications. For instance, if you lay a foundation or concrete slab on only sand, any water pressure changes happen almost instantly (I forget if it's measured in minutes or just under a day, but in either case, pretty negligible in terms of the lifespan of most foundations). On the other hand, if you lay the same foundation on a more clayey soil, the soil beneath might experience changes in pore water pressure over the course of months or even years. This then has to be accounted for with all kinds of lovely equations, and can cause a lot of problems with settling, which might not happen until it's long past the ability to change anything about the foundations.
As a kid I often played with friends on cliff like hill side near our homes. It was 5 meters or more high and pure clay in 50% easy. Dough like consistence at times. Gonna take my kids for a clay hunt I guess. Great content!
So many of us played with wild clay as kids. Thanks
As someone living in Arizona, I've wondered where I could go to get my own clay for personal projects since everything is just sandy dirt around me. This video was just what I needed.
Awesome, I am glad it helped you out.
Lucky. I live in Florida and we just have sand
@@syvvieon same! This makes me so sad lol. Our dirt isn't even dirt even inland, its mostly brownish sand
I live in Florida too. If you want clay just go down to your local river or stream with a shovel. Take some of the dirt hear the edge of the water. You should get loads of clay. I've done this with my son at the St. Johns River and Lake Monroe.
@@mathew00 I can see! I live pretty close to the shore so a lot of waterways around here are either sandy creeks or beaches, but I think I have a few ideas of less sandy spots
Once when I was a kid I dug a deep hole and found clay. As a city kid it blew my mind, I thought of clay as something people make. My Mom didnt even believe me lol.
Cool, kids are great explorers
I don’t need to buy or make it cos like less than one shovel scoop down you hit solid f$cking clay on our property. Putting posts and other stuff in the ground is an absolute pain.
I love how you respond to most (if not all) of your comments. It really shows that you care... and subscribed!
I work at an adult day program, and our art director pays through the nose for clay that looks just like yours, every month. Like hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month.
No doubt.
The clay you pay for probably doesn't have chemical runoff in it from the vehicles driving over it.
@@celebratedeth362 unless you plan on eating the clay, that really isn't a problem. Unfortunatly the bacteria hosted by the moisture and organic bits mixed in could kill you faster.
Sounds like the answer is to start making your own and sell it to him for a little less
I was on a horizontal drilling site this week and the soil was 20 feet deep of layers of red and yellow claw. There was one inch that was a very fine homogeneous waxy clay, too. Made me think about pottery. I couldn't stop picking up chunks and squeezing them.
Wow, could be awesome pottery clay there
Thank You! I took Horticulture at college and I loved learning about the different types of soil - like loamy, sandy or clay types!
For the first time i actually processed my own clay after watching this video. So straight to the point and easy to understand!!! Thanks for the video.
I love this man SO much. He is whole heartedly human still and that is sadly hard to come by these days.
🤭
As an artist, I really appreciate raw passion without material or superficial motivation.
Yeah, probably was easier in the middle ages or in WWII, right?
I'm having a lot of fun exploring native clays in my area. And it costs little to do so. Thanks Andy for the inspiration and knowledge about this process.
Definitely, have fun!
Heck yeah! I've wondered about how to "make" clay for years but never looked it up. This was an incredibly useful video, nicely done!
This was such a random video to pop up on my feed, and I am very glad I watched it. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Andy, thank you so much for all your efforts in creating these videos. They are so informative and easy to follow, as well such an asset in learning about primitive pottery. I just harvested my first batch of wild clay and will be using the sample #1 method. I really appreciate you sharing your years of experience that aid in me having great results the first time. I fired a pot yesterday and the process was effortless thanks to your videos.
So glad that you are able to learn something from my videos. Thanks!
I've been having a weird breakdown for the past hour or so but watching this has calmed me and it's been fun learning about clay So thanks ♥
Glad I could help.
Thank you so much❤!! I really couldn't understand all the other videos on yt but urs were really of big help to me .thank you for the detailed explanation on different type of soil and the process.
I'm gonna do this. I'm in the US south, there's so much red clay here, I can't even grow a garden without heavy amendments. But I'd be happy to find some use for the soil we have. Also, literally every step here are the same steps we'd use to make bread or tofu in the kitchen. It's shockingly similar, down to the muslin bag, or in your case, a pillowcase.
There are many parallels between baking and ceramics.
If I knew this as a kid me and my friends would have our own homemade house 😂
Thank you so much for making this video, Andy. It was entertaining and educational and easy to understand. And you just seem like a really cool person. You’re right about getting outside. I miss my childhood when I lived out in the country.
Fantastic video.finally feel like it's been explained in a way I understand enough I feel confident to go out and get my own
You know, I've never dabbled into pottery whatsoever but I felt very compelled to watch this and was not disappointed. I'm familiar with soil and clay because of my background on civil engineering and I love seeing how different compositions that are no good for construction can be used in other ways.
I just came back by to say I've just done my first clay-finding excursion and it was a success! I admit, I had geography very much on my side, as clay is literally everywhere in my area of Tennessee, but it was such a thrill! I tried just dry processing by hand and made a kindergarten quality pinch pot right there on the spot. I'm trying the levigating process now, to see if it yields a better, more useable clay. Thanks so much! This video was a fantastic motivation to get me to try something I can really feel proud of, whether my first attempt yields success or failure.
That's awesome, I am glad I could help. Have fun with that Tennessee clay!
Orthodox Tennessee when?
Great video Andy. I appreciate the life tips about screens and adventuring also. It resonated.
This is so fun and easy to make! I love how he shows us how to make clay with cheap and accessible tools
The information from your channel is so amazing. I’ve grown a love for plants and wanted more pots but wanted them to be more sentimental and close to me. Making my own pots is something I’m working towards and you’re helping every step of the way!!!!!!
That’s awesome, I would love to see your plant pots when you get some done. I love plants too.
I feel lucky to have found your channel today. Your message and your presentation are fabulous and I'm excited to share this with my wife and her students!
Awesome, thanks
thank you I plan to share this activity with my children. you're awesome!
Thank you for your friendly advice. I have still many years to live and this advice is always gonna be usefull
Thankyou so so much for this, i was thinking of trying pottery but i just couldn't find the clay for it and frankly as a newbie i kept wondering why ordinary dirt wouldn't work, so thankyou so much for this ❤️❤️
I'm so glad I stumbled upon this! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion!
You are so welcome!
Always a pleasure to watch a true craftsman teach the elements of the craft. Thank you, keep up the great work.
Now this is exactly what I was looking for, Thank you so much this helps alot, I am trying it out right now.
In agronomy we have a test called "black pudding / cylindrical object" (boudin in french) that enable us to estimate if the clay level is under or above 20%. Take a hand of soil, put lot of water, malaxe it and try to make a ring with that. If the ring break soon that mostly sand (you can feel the grains cripsy), if you cant close the ring but only an half moon and there is cracks that limon mostly (the texture is soft and slidy) and if the ring can be closed that full of clay :)
Thanks good tips!
What does malaxe mean?
@@ilikeceral3 kneading, like dough
At first, I thought... yeah! clay stuff, but you have really opened up a whole new world to me!! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!!!🤩
Happy to help!
This popped up on my KZhead feed and I clicked on it without any expectations. It was a fascinating look into a ubiquitous material that most of us barely even give a second look. I knew clay was out there to be found, but I did not know it was available on the tops of fields, etc. I thought you had to go scrabbling around river banks and such. I did pottery when I was at school so very long ago, this kinda fired up a long-lost interest. Thank you.
You've been the best at explaining the whole process. Thanks for charing.
Glad it was helpful
Andy, just found your channel. Very interesting stuff as an outdoor survivalist. Never knew how to process my own clay for building, now i do. Absolutely, fantastic stuff.
Thanks, glad I could help.
i remember looking for pieces of clay with my friends when we were like 5 lol when you dig into dirt in certain areas you can find plain pieces of clay really, just need to clean it
I love when you make videos like this, thanks for the guide.
Watched you for the first time . 8 am and subscribed 2 mins in . Grew up beside a gravel pit and forgot how important those little adventures were to for self fulfilment and personal wealth of knowledge . You have a gift to educator and inspire young sir
Thank you, kids know it but we often forget as we grow up.
Wow, this was amazing to watch. Thank you for educating us on how to make clay the right way!
You are so welcome!
Wholesome, outstanding effort, and honest work. I'll definitely be watching more of this sort'a stuff. Keep it up, my man.
Thanks, will do!
The 20% sand tip was excellent. My young daughter and I processed clay a few years back and we struggled with it cracking. Thanks for the tip!
“Remember, being on the Internet all day is not good for you.” Very glad you point this out. Also clay is like dough. I love seeing the chemical reactions in this world and learning all the different terminology for certain sciences.
Thanks for this info Andy. I was out this week rockhounding with my son, looking for sapphires and other cool gems, but found myself also collecting bagfuls of different clays as it had just rained there. I've just started processing it now so this video is quite timely. (pillow case trick will save me heaps of time) I've got a lovely light tan clay which I'm hoping fires a nice pale colour as well. Cheers from Oz!
That sounds awesome, I'm glad my video was able to help you.
Liked and subscribed not only because you made a great video but you suggested to go out and adventure! More people need to hear that and I love that you added that message to your video. Thanks for the amazing content!
Thanks for the sub!
Got a sub from me. You're articulate, well spoken and to the point! Thanks man
So far, this has been the most useful source for processing wild clay. Thanks for the content!
Glad I could help.
I am so excited to have run across this video! I bought a farm in a town that was, at one time, well known for their red bricks that they made from the clay in the groundy Most of the old buildings still standing are made from those old red bricks and I love getting to see the few that remain. I find red clay everywhere on my farm so I am stoked!!!!
You are very blest, I hope you can find a good use for all your clay.
Your vids are so informative and valuable, it's a wonder you don't have millions of followers !
I would love to have a million subs, maybe some day. Thanks!
i was truly impressed by the depth of knowledge and how easy he explained it!
This is freaking incredible. I am learning to process wild clay for a friend who’s in school for ceramics. This taught me so much
Wonderful!
I’m absolutely in love with your channel…you explain every step thoroughly…much appreciated ❤️
I love how you go out to dig for clay - and don't even bring a small gardening trowel. :D Keeping it simple for the viewer. :)
Ha ha, if only it were that I was thinking of the viewer. In reality I forgot to bring something and it was a long way back or even to a hardware store where I could buy something so just make do.
Thank you so much ! I managed two batches of clay already with dirt from my garden with little effort ! Your video changed how I see the ground/soil
Awesome
This was super informative thanks! I had been kicking around the idea trying to make/gather my own clay for a long time but never actually got around to doing it because i wasnt sure what difference from harvested vs store bought was.
the outside is lovely and this really works!
I've been studying Ancient cultures like the Hohokam, and this is something I've been wanting to know. Thank you. Well done.
Thanks, I hope this helps in your study.
This is amazing. New favourite channel. I’ve always been intrigued by pottery. Also primitive creations. ❤️
Awesome! Thank you!
was looking up how to make some aimple diy plant vases and now i'm motivated to go dig up clay and make my own
Hi man .Super inspiring what you said about going on your own adventure to get some clay . I showed my son this and his mind was blown ,now we collect different types to make nice clean clay using your methods Mad props to yeh
Awesome, have fun on your adventure.
Great video! Very informative and well paced. BTW, I love the part where you encouraged people to go outside.
Thank you, I hate to think of people sitting around all day watching my videos, hopefully I can encourage people to get outdoors.
Love your stuff. I need to get back with you on my clay collecting, and how it went. A definite adventure. Thanks so much for sharing
Thanks.
New experience learned from dirts,so amazing and exciting videos that shows how different the dirts is. it is kind of science.
Great job on talking about the clay content in different soils. This is definitely something to consider. I'd like to add that silt also forms that crackle texture in flat surfaces, however upon grabbing a sample it falls apart into fine powder, whereas clay would keep it shape, or break off in chunks. Best way to improve clay ID skills is to watch Andy's vids and go dirt hunting and testing! Keep up the great work Andy.
Hmm, I am skeptical. After 30+ years of looking for clay I can't say I have ever seen silt form cracks like that unless that silt had a small amount of clay in it, in which case it is easy to tell from the texture (as you say). Anyway thanks for watching and commenting.
Wow, so fascinating, love listening to you teaching, I’ve learnt so much. I’m a beginner, this is helping me to create for me! ❤️
You are so welcome! I am glad you are able to learn from my videos.
Such a great video, thanks for much for sharing! I can't wait to go out and have a little foraging adventure to find materials for my pottery. ❤
Have fun!
Really cool stuff, I really wish you'd expand on this type or video format more where you explain nature fundamentals people don't nessesarily know much about
Too many of us are far removed from nature. Thanks
This is a really informative video, thank you so much for teaching us these techniques! You got yourself a new subscriber there bud :)
Thanks for the sub!
I was literally thinking about this video the other day and it just showed up in my recommendations!
Great video! Honest, informative and just good ole genuine advice. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
This is exactly the kind of KZhead content I love. Clear, objective, thorough. Absolutely love it. Thank you for making this!
You are welcome.
Wow. Didn’t know it was that easy. Great video production by the way!
Thank you
One of the best internet videos i have seen. Great topic, good quality and especially shout out to remerbing people to have their own outside adventures. Keep it up