Name: Choosing Your Pottery Clay - Best Pottery Clay For Beginners - Pottery Crafters
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Choosing Your Pottery Clay - Best Pottery Clay For Beginners - Pottery Crafters

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Skip to contentBefore considering what equipment to buy, it’s worth thinking about what clay to use. There are many different clays you can choose from. Find out which one is best for you.When starting to make Pottery, I was amazed and confused by all the clays there were to choose from.I stayed with the clay that was given to me at the pottery studio until understanding the differences and began the journey of experimenting with different clays.After a lot of experimenting, searching, and asking a lot of questions, I now know an easier way to choose my clay. Let me share with you what I have learned to help make selecting clay easier. Here is your guide detailing the 5 main things a beginner potter should look for when choosing a clay.Affiliate Disclaimer: We are ambassadors or affiliates for many of the brands we reference on the website.&nbsp; As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.1) Type of Clay Body (Earthenware, Stoneware, or Porcelain)2) Texture (Smooth, course, or in-between)3) Cone size (Firing Temperature)4) Color (What effect are you looking for)5) Price (Good Price Point for beginners)The difference in types of clay has to do with the different minerals, the amount of plasticity ( Stickiness and workability), the size of the platelets, and the firing temperatures.There are 3 basic types of clay bodies for beginners to choose from; Earthenware, Stoneware, and Porcelain. These are a few things you will want to know when choosing your clay.It is very important not to over-fire earthenware clay. It will start to melt.A good thing to know when selecting your clay is if there is grog (ground up fired clay), sand, both, or none in your clay. Your selection will depend on what you are using your clay for and what skill level you are.When hand building you want to have a good amount of grog or sand in your clay. There are several reasons for this:You will want your clay to be as smooth as possible without collapsing on the wheel. The first clay I threw on the wheel was Stoneware with grog; it felt like I was throwing with fine sandpaper.I recommend a nice smooth stoneware or earthenware clay that has enough texture to play with for a long time and does NOT hurt your hands, even after throwing for hours.When it comes to throwing clay on the wheel, porcelain truly is the best. It feels so good as the clay runs against my hands, but is not as forgiving as the stoneware and earthenware clays.The instruction label will indicate if the clay has any sand or grog in it. Some will even say Heavy GrogWhen I went to my first Pottery Class, the instructor said, “You will be using a Cone 10 clay.”I said, “What’s a Cone?”The instructor replied, “A Pyrometric cone is the measurement of heat that your piece can be fired to in a kiln.”I quickly found out that when choosing clay, you must know the cone size. The different firing temperatures of each clay type may determine what sort of kiln you need.You want the cone size of your clay to match the cone size of your glazes because clay and glaze can expand and contract together, making them an exact fix and food safe. There are basically three different temperature ranges. When buying your clay, it’s important to know what temperature the kiln will be firing to and the cone size of your clay body and glaze.Low Fire ranges anywhere from Cone 022 ( 1087 degrees F or 586 degrees C ) to Cone 2 (2088 degrees F or 1142 degrees C ) Most popular firing range is Cone 04 to 06.Mid Fire ranges between Cone 3 ( 2106 degrees F or 1152 degrees C ) to Cone 7 ( 2,262 degrees F or 1239 degrees C ) Most popular fire range is Cone 5 and 6.Mid-fire is popular because of the numerous colors of glazes to choose from, plus being dinnerware safe. When choosing your mid-fire clay make sure it does&nbsp;not have a zero in front of the number. If the clay or glaze is low fire it will melt in the kiln.High Fire ranges from Cone 8 ( 2280 degrees F or 1249 degrees C ) to Cone 10 ( 2,345 degrees F or 1285 degrees C ) most popular is Cone 10.This clay is stronger and more durable than lower-fired clays. If you high fire clay that is mid-fire only or low-fire it will bubble, deform, and even melt in the kiln.Important note: The description or label should indicate the Cone Size. If it’s missing I would not buy it because you don’t know what temperature it can be fired to, if any. Keep in mind there are also no fire clays.The great part about buying clay today is the array of colors you have to choose from. These are some colors you may want to consider.The great part about clays today is the selections you have and the range of prices to choose from. As a beginner, I would start out with the lower-priced clay because of the sheer amount of practice clay you will go through.For convenience, it’s best to buy moist clay in the bag ready to wedge.There are some definite advantages to buying dry clay such as the shipping cost, weight, storage, and mixing it to your own liking with the right amount of sand, grog, or other minerals. Mixing Dry clay has some extra steps and there is a definite learning curve, this is why a Beginner Potter should always get moist premade ready to wedge clay.The more advanced Potters do mix different Clays together. As a beginner, I would not. Most beginners don’t know enough about how different clays will interact with each other. The clay would have to be test-fired in the kiln.If the shrinkage rate is not similar, then the clay particles will shrink at different rates putting pressure on the platelets. This could cause your mixed clay to crack as it dries. I never mix different clay bodies together. If you have several different clays it’s best to keep them separate and mark our bags and containers.A cookie is made by rolling out your clay a quarter-inch thick like a sheet of cookie dough; then cut circles out that look like cookies and bisque them. Cookies are used to by placing them under your glazed pieces. Make sure the cookie is larger than the base of your piece to catch that runaway glaze.When Glazing Pottery, it’s best to use cookies, especially if you’re a beginner.The best clay to use for cookies is Cone 10 Stoneware with Grog. There are several reasons for this.If you use this clay for your cookies, they will last many glaze firings, and you don’t have to make them as often. Just like real cookies, I like to make my clay cookies in batches.It’s fun to play with clay especially if it’s the right clay. Figuring out what clay you like will come down to a lot of hands-on practice. We hope this article will help you in finding your clay. Stay Dirty My FriendsKeep this list in mind when choosing your clay to help you make the best choice. Knowing what you need and want in your pottery clay makes all the difference in the world. It’s a good idea to practice with different clays until you find the one that feels right for you.I recommend for beginners because of how smooth and easy it is to work with and does stay up longer on the wheel.If you want to know about more clay info and choices, then check out my Top Clay Picks page.Knowing how to reclaim your pottery clay is a great way to save good clay. I will go through a few ways you can reclaim or recycle clay. No, there is no limit to how many times you can reclaim clay if you care for…At the invention of the Pottery Wheel, a new process of pottery making began. The potter placed a lump of clay on the wheel and squeezed, lifted, and shaped it. Potters could now make pots much faster than before. That begs the question of where…When it comes to drying pottery, slow and even is always the best way to go. Which raises the important question, how long pottery should dry before firing? On average, it should take 1 to 2 weeks for pottery toLet’s face it; recycling clay is not at the top of a potters list. Most potters I know dread having to slop slushy clay on plaster molds or ware boards. It’s a tedious and time-consuming messy task. I didn’t want to do it, but I…Bats are discs that you attach to the head of a pottery wheel. These discs help you remove your piece from the wheel, even when it’s still wet, without misshaping or damaging your piece. If you’re wondering how to get the best out of your…If you’re passionate about Pottery, you must have pondered about making Pottery your full-time job many times. Most of the time, you shrug it off as the idea sounds unlikely. Making a Living Selling Pottery is actually easier than you think. Here is A Step-by-Step…Hi, I’m MarieI’m a Potter, a Writer, and the Creator of Pottery CraftersI also make videos on YouTube&nbsp;about Making Pottery.My passion is to make Pottery and to Pass on what I’ve learned to you,helping you in your Pottery Making Journey… Read moreLegal Information This site is owned and operated by Pottery Crafters. Pottery Crafters is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Pottery Crafters also participates in affiliate programs with, CJ, Impact Radius, and other sites. Pottery Crafters is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.Subscribe and start learning today!&nbsp;Pottery Crafters Claymail Alerts are completely free, and you have the freedom to unsubscribe at any time.Congratulations! 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Skip to contentBefore considering what equipment to buy, it’s worth thinking about what clay to use. There are many different clays you can choose from. Find out which one is best for you.When starting to make Pottery, I was amazed and confused by all the clays there were to choose from.I stayed with the clay that was given to me at the pottery studio until understanding the differences and began the journey of experimenting with different clays.After a lot of experimenting, searching, and asking a lot of questions, I now know an easier way to choose my clay. Let me share with you what I...

Choosing Your Pottery Clay - Best Pottery Clay For Beginners - Pottery Crafters

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