Okay, so the other day I got this wild idea to try and find my own clay. You know, like, straight from the earth. I’d seen some videos online and thought, “Why not give it a shot?” I mean, how hard could it be, right?
The Hunt Begins
First things first, I needed to figure out where to even look. I remembered reading somewhere that riverbanks and areas with exposed soil are good places to start. So, I grabbed a small shovel, a bucket, and headed out to a local creek I knew.
I started by walking along the creek, keeping an eye out for any areas where the soil was a different color, maybe a bit reddish or grayish. I figured that might be a sign of clay.
- I spent a good hour just wandering, occasionally poking at the ground with my shovel.
- Most of what I found was just regular dirt and rocks. Kind of discouraging, to be honest.
Finally, a Clue!
Just when I was about to give up, I noticed a spot where the bank had eroded, exposing a layer of really sticky, grayish mud. I dug my shovel in, and it felt totally different than the other dirt I’d been digging in. This stuff was dense and kind of… slippery.
I scooped some up and rolled it in my hands. It felt smooth and held its shape pretty well. Could this be it? I was starting to get excited.
Testing the “Clay”
I filled my bucket with a good amount of the sticky mud and headed back home. I knew I needed to test it to see if it was actually clay, or just, you know, more mud. I used the pinch pot test that I found on internet.
- I took a small ball of the mud and started pinching it between my thumb and fingers, trying to form a small pot shape.
- If it cracked easily, it probably wasn’t clay. If it held its shape and felt smooth, it had potential.
My “clay” actually did pretty well! It didn’t crack much, and I was able to form a tiny, lopsided pot. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. I was feeling pretty awesome at this point, like a real-life explorer or something. I’m gonna let my wonky little pot dry and see how it turns out. I think I may have found my own clay!
It will takes lots of time to purify the raw clay, but I did it!
