Book One: Raw

I've been working on this bird of prey. I'm still evoking the Egyptian Totum motif. I will cut the pages today and then start "writing" by this weekend.

Fired Ellis County Brown No. 1

I fired the test batch of the EC Brown #1 and was pleased with the results. The clay was very grainy when I threw it and I was worried that this grain would explode under heat, but it must have been some sort of organic material, perhaps a shelled creature about the quarter size of a piece of sand.

The material burned out and the result is a hard, dunky, light piece. The color went from a dark chocolate brown when wet to a lighter brown when bone dry. The fired color is a light buff.

I will formalize the following tests and come up with or use a standard scale for the following:

Weight: With the burn out of the organic material, this clay resembles soft brick used for kiln building with the ability to quickly "sand" it down.

Hardness: The terracotta I use is the Trinity Terracotta or the Armadillo Red, both high in iron and both very tight and hard when fired. If this were on the "normal" end, the EC Brown #1 is much softer.

Throwability: This clay is difficult to throw and form. More on this after my 20 lbs has dried a bit more.

Sound: When thunked, terracotta makes a high pitched ring. This clay wants to resonate the same, but comes out lower. Other clays will ring higher when fired higher so I will glaze the test pieces and report.

Other notes: I spoke with the Ellis County Texas Archaeological Society past president yesterday. I heard her speak several years ago and part of her display had a picture of a pictograph created when this area was filled with a transient native population. While she has the display packed away, she did say that she had a book with pictures of decorative pots of the area and she would scan them and send them to me. With the new batch of EC Brown #1 I will decorate in the same fashion and use some Terra Sigilatta on some.

Good stuff to follow.

Progress: On clay and books

Drying clay has been a slow process, but I was able to quickly dry about a pound of what I'm now calling "Ellis County Brown" which is actually a secondary alluvial clay mix containing sand, silt, and clay. In the field, a quick placidity test showed that is was plastic and I was hoping it would be throwable.

I threw two cylinder, one about three inches tall and the other about 4 inches tall. I was able to raise the clay without a problem, but I neither wanted t to smooth the walls nor trim the bottom. Precious objects become just that at times and I was compelled to leave well enough alone. I stamped them and set them to dry. They are now in the kiln, being fired to cone 06, a temperature I'll adjust if needed.

Of course everything may blow up as well...

I have about 15 pounds drying and is still too soupy to consider doing anything with other being used as a colorant for my Epitaph Books, which is something I will use on the one I'll complete this week.

E. Book:

I have started my first book and I find myself continuing with the "Modified Egyptian Totum-motif" I started with when creating the first prototype. I'm starting to really like the form and as I progress I'll work on some which will not be destroyed. In my classes, I have enjoyed sharing this project with my students and I've enjoyed the leaps in logic they have come up with: That a book can be a book no matter its form or function, and that they will argue no matter what the reason.

Paper:

I am also writing a paper on the indigenous population and their use of clay and the art of it all. I will hit the library this weekend, but I do have a good lead: There is an archaeological society in Ellis County, Tx and I will be talking to them soon.

Random thoughts: I wanted to use local materials to decorate the clay I dig and I will make some Terra Sigillata with the clay and use it for decoration. I find it neat that these classes of my design parallel those of Ft. Hays State U.

Wrapped Book

Still working on the test. I like what I see.

Clay Washing

At the end of the day I had around 40 pounds of dirty clay containing shells, stone, roots and spiders. I placed the clay in a bucket in the sink and started screening to remove the particles of what ever I could. I made a screen out of hardware mesh and two plastic bowls which fit in the buckets and worked like a charm, eliminating the flat screen which didn't really work at all.

I rescreened using a window screen mesh and I was able to get out most of the other particles. Once this process was completed I had a nice "clean" soup which I decanted when I could. I then put it in my plaster dryer/recycle.

The mess and the desire to get to the clay was overwhelming. I tend to work without cleaning and I was barley over the plumbing issues of the Christmas freeze, but I wanted that clay.

As of now, the clay is drying. It is a dark, rich brown. The field test indicated that it was a nice and plastic. I plan to fire a test cylinder at 06 and then judge to see if I should fire up or down. I will use shale from the creek to use as a colorant, and tests are coming.

Digging for Clay: Initial Time

1-18-2010

Pictures: The full backback, The shovel with a test on it, the unnamed South Prong Creek tributary (The clay was on the north bank,) the South Prong Creek, which is dammed further down to make Lake Waxahachie. South Prong is typical of the creeks in Texas with the high banked walls and shallow slow flow, and finally, a view of the bridge off of FM 1446 in Ellis County, Texas.


I knew it wouldn't be as planned, after all, what is? I envisioned taking a bucket and shovel down to one of the many creeks which dot Texas, find an area which the water has cut into the land deep, and start digging clay. The clay was next to be screened and washed and I would be on my way making pots with local clay.

So, reality sets in. Buckets are difficult to carry distances and clay is heavy. So, out with the bucket and in with the bag lined backpack. In with the "it's cold in a creek in Texas in January" and "where the heck is the "most abundant material on earth?" and "ahh, my waders do have a hole in them."

I did find a promising area on the South Prong Creek where an unnamed tributary runs into it. Texas has only one natural lake so every creek and river in the State has been dammed to create a lake and the South Prong is no exception: Further down-stream it forms into Lake Waxahachie.

So, I took a handful of the gumbo present and rolled it in my hand. After it dried out a bit I was able to make a loop with it, crush it, and recreate the loop. This was the clay test I've read about and this area passed the initial testing. So I started digging.

And the earth refused to give up gracefully. I fought roots and rocks, but I managed to get about 30 pounds or so in my bag lined backpack and hike out.

And now I've washed and screened the clay. I'll give details on that in blogs to come.

Notes on Epitath Books

I'm writing this blog for three graduate classes at Ft. Hays University. One class is a paper over the clay and art of indigenous populations of Texas, one is digging clay where these people lived, and one is with ceremony burying epitaph books of my design. From the request:

Figurative Epitaph books: I would like to create 4 epitaph books out of clay and other media, bind them, then bury them in spaces (with ceremony) three feet deep. The books will be personal and introspective in nature but dealing with a common theme of Man vs. Self. They will all be designed to biodegrade within 8 years, which is my “shelf-life” left in teaching. All aspects of the books will be environmentally safe and permission to bury will be obtained at each location. Documentation (a paper (containing artist statements, reasons, ceremony transcripts and photographs) will be used as assessment.

To start with, you must redefine what a book is. It's a vessel broken up into sections (pages) containing information. Epitaph books will contain life information of life sandwiched within the sections. My books will be figurative, open able, and bound tightly. On the surface they will be decorative. Mechanically they will open and close. They then will be bound tightly and untimely buried.

Today I started making a model of my first one. Problems dealt with cutting the "pages" and dealing with the thickness of the model.