# MyClay > A micro blog about clay: wheel throwing, hand building, glazing, firing schedules, polymer and air-dry clay. Short posts that answer one question properly. Every post is server-rendered HTML and is also available as raw markdown by appending `.md` to its URL. A single-file bundle of all post text is at https://myclay.online/llms-full.txt. Licence: content may be quoted and cited with attribution to MyClay (https://myclay.online). ## Posts - [How to Make Slip for Pottery (Three Recipes, Five Minutes)](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-make-slip-for-pottery.md): Break dry clay into small pieces, cover with water until it slakes down, then blend to the thickness you need: thick cream for joining, single cream for decorating, pourable for casting. (Slip and decoration; updated 2026-08-27) - [What Is Slip in Pottery? A Plain Explanation](https://myclay.online/blog/what-is-slip-in-pottery.md): Slip is liquid clay. Thick slip joins parts together, medium slip decorates leather-hard surfaces, and thin deflocculated slip is poured into plaster moulds to cast shapes. (Slip and decoration; updated 2026-08-25) - [How to Make Coloured Slip for Pottery](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-make-colored-slip.md): Start with a white or buff slip, add 5 to 10 percent commercial stain or 1 to 3 percent oxide by dry weight, sieve, and fire a test tile before committing. Wet colour tells you nothing about fired colour. (Slip and decoration; updated 2026-08-24) - [What Is Ceramic Glaze Made Of? The Three Ingredients](https://myclay.online/blog/what-is-ceramic-glaze-made-of.md): Glaze is glass. Silica forms the glass, a flux lowers its melting point into kiln range, and alumina stops it running off the pot. Colourants and opacifiers are added on top of that trio. (Glazing; updated 2026-08-22) - [How to Glaze Pottery at Home, Step by Step](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-glaze-pottery-at-home.md): Wipe the bisque clean, stir the glaze thoroughly, apply an even coat about as thick as a postcard, wipe the foot completely bare, and fire to the cone on the glaze label. (Glazing; updated 2026-08-20) - [How to Make Ceramic Glaze From Raw Materials](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-make-ceramic-glaze.md): Weigh dry materials to a recipe by percentage, add water to roughly 80 percent of the dry weight, blend, sieve twice through 80 mesh, and fire test tiles before committing a batch to real pots. (Glazing; updated 2026-08-18) - [What Is Glazing in Ceramics? What the Word Actually Covers](https://myclay.online/blog/what-is-glazing-in-ceramics.md): Glazing is applying a glass-forming coating to bisque ware and firing it until it melts into a sealed, glassy surface. It waterproofs porous clay, makes it hygienic and easy to clean, and provides the colour and surface. (Glazing; updated 2026-08-16) - [Where to Buy Clay for Pottery: Every Option Compared](https://myclay.online/blog/where-to-buy-clay-for-pottery.md): Buy from a dedicated ceramic supplier if you can reach one — they sell 10 to 12 kg boxes at a fraction of craft shop prices. Local studios often resell clay, and shipping is what makes online orders expensive. (Buying guide; updated 2026-08-14) - [Where to Buy Pottery Glaze (and What to Check Before You Do)](https://myclay.online/blog/where-to-buy-pottery-glaze.md): Buy from a ceramic supplier: jarred brushing glaze for small quantities and detail, dry powder or bulk buckets once you use more than a few litres. Check the cone, the food-safety statement, the finish and the batch. (Buying guide; updated 2026-08-12) - [Where to Find Natural Clay (And How to Know It Is Clay)](https://myclay.online/blog/where-to-find-natural-clay.md): Look at exposed vertical faces — riverbanks, cuttings, drainage ditches, foundation digs. Clay is smooth, sticky when wet and holds a shape. Test it with the ribbon test and the coil-bend test before you carry a bucket home. (Wild clay; updated 2026-08-10) - [How to Process Wild Clay Into Usable Pottery Clay](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-process-wild-clay.md): Dry the dug clay, slake it in water, sieve to remove grit and roots, let the fines settle, pour off the water, then dry the slurry on plaster to throwing stiffness. Test fire before making anything you care about. (Wild clay; updated 2026-08-08) - [How to Make Clay From Soil in Your Own Garden](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-make-clay-from-soil.md): Clay is already in the soil — extraction, not creation. Slake the dirt in water, stir hard, pour off the cloudy water before the sand settles, let the clay settle out of it, then dry the sludge on plaster. (Wild clay; updated 2026-08-06) - [How Much Does Pottery Clay Cost? A Realistic Breakdown](https://myclay.online/blog/how-much-does-pottery-clay-cost.md): A 10 to 12 kg box of stoneware works out to a low single-digit cost per kilogram, which is well under a dollar of clay in a typical mug. Firing, glaze and studio time cost far more than the clay does. (Buying guide; updated 2026-08-04) - [What Is Clay Made Of? The Minerals Behind the Material](https://myclay.online/blog/what-is-clay-made-of.md): Clay is fine plate-shaped minerals — mostly kaolinite, illite and montmorillonite — produced by feldspar weathering over long periods. Water between the plates lets them slide, which is why clay is plastic. (Materials; updated 2026-08-02) - [Where Does Clay Come From? From Granite to the Ground Under You](https://myclay.online/blog/where-does-clay-come-from.md): Clay forms when feldspar in rocks like granite weathers chemically over thousands of years. Some stays where it formed as primary clay; most is carried by water and deposited elsewhere as secondary clay. (Materials; updated 2026-08-01) - [What Is Clay Used For? Far More Than Pottery](https://myclay.online/blog/what-is-clay-used-for.md): Pottery is a small share of clay use. Construction materials dominate, followed by industrial applications that exploit clay's fine particle size, absorbency and chemical stability. (Materials; updated 2026-07-30) - [Is Clay Renewable or Non-Renewable?](https://myclay.online/blog/is-clay-renewable-or-nonrenewable.md): Clay is a non-renewable mineral resource: it forms far slower than we extract it. It is also one of the most abundant materials on earth, and unfired clay can be recycled indefinitely. (Materials; updated 2026-07-28) - [What Does Clay Look Like in the Ground?](https://myclay.online/blog/what-does-clay-look-like.md): Look for smooth, evenly coloured bands with no visible grit in a cut bank or ditch. Clay is sticky when wet, cracks into straight-edged blocks when dry, and rolls into a thin coil without breaking. (Wild clay; updated 2026-07-26) - [How to Store Polymer Clay So It Stays Workable](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-store-polymer-clay.md): Keep it cool, dark and away from incompatible plastics. Wrap opened clay in wax paper or parchment, store in metal tins or polypropylene boxes, and never leave it in a warm car or a sunny window. (Polymer clay; updated 2026-07-24) - [How to Sculpt With Polymer Clay: A Working Method](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-sculpt-with-polymer-clay.md): Condition the clay thoroughly, build over a foil armature to keep the walls thin, work from large forms down to detail, bake in stages for complex pieces, and support overhangs during baking. (Polymer clay; updated 2026-07-22) - [Is Modeling Clay the Same as Polymer Clay?](https://myclay.online/blog/modeling-clay-vs-polymer-clay.md): Polymer clay is one specific type of modelling clay that hardens permanently when baked. Plasticine never hardens at all, and air-dry clay hardens in air but stays fragile and water-soluble. (Modelling clay; updated 2026-07-20) - [How to Harden Modelling Clay (It Depends Which Kind You Have)](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-harden-modelling-clay.md): Polymer clay hardens by baking at 110 to 150 °C. Air-dry clay hardens by evaporation over one to three days. Oil-based plasticine never hardens — no oven, freezer or varnish will change that. (Modelling clay; updated 2026-07-18) - [How to Make Modelling Clay at Home: Three Recipes That Work](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-make-modelling-clay-at-home.md): Salt dough is cheapest and coarsest, cornstarch clay is smooth and white and needs no cooking, and cold porcelain is the finest but needs PVA and heat. None of them is pottery clay. (Modelling clay; updated 2026-07-16) - [Drying Pots Evenly: The Step That Decides If They Survive](https://myclay.online/blog/drying-pots-evenly.md): Wrap loosely for the first day, dry on a porous board, keep thin parts covered, and give every piece the same environment. Slow, even drying prevents nearly all cracking. (Troubleshooting; updated 2026-07-15) - [How to Store Air-Dry Clay Once Opened](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-store-air-dry-clay.md): Wrap the block tightly in cling film or its original plastic, put it in an airtight container with a damp sponge that does not touch the clay, and keep it somewhere cool. Rehydrate stiff clay by kneading in water. (Air-dry clay; updated 2026-07-14) - [How to Use Foam Clay: Working Time, Drying and Finishing](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-use-foam-clay.md): Work it in thin layers on a firm base, smooth with a wet finger or tool, and let it dry 24 to 48 hours per layer. It dries light and slightly spongy, sands easily, and needs a flexible sealer before paint. (Modelling clay; updated 2026-07-12) - [How to Use Monster Clay: Melting, Sculpting and Moulding](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-use-monster-clay.md): Warm it to soften, block in the large forms while it is soft, then let it cool to firm up for detail. It never hardens, so a finished sculpt is a mould master, not a finished object. (Sculpting; updated 2026-07-10) - [What Clay Is Best for Sculpting? Matched to What You Are Making](https://myclay.online/blog/best-clay-for-sculpting.md): There is no single best sculpting clay. Oil-based clay for anything you will mould or rework, polymer for small permanent detail, grogged ceramic clay for fired sculpture, air-dry for scale on a budget. (Sculpting; updated 2026-07-08) - [What Is a Clay Model in Sculpture?](https://myclay.online/blog/what-is-a-clay-model-in-sculpture.md): In sculpture, the clay model is the artist's original. Because clay is not durable, it is moulded and the mould is used to cast the final piece in a permanent material. (Sculpting; updated 2026-07-06) - [How to Make Clay Figures That Do Not Fall Over or Crack](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-make-clay-figures.md): Work from big shapes to small, support anything that projects, keep the mass low and the base wide, and hollow anything thicker than 2.5 cm. Attach limbs at matching stiffness or they crack off. (Sculpting; updated 2026-07-04) - [How to Sculpt With Clay: A Method for Beginners](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-sculpt-with-clay.md): Build a support, block in the big masses, fix proportion and silhouette before anything else, refine secondary forms, and add detail last. Turn the piece constantly and step back often. (Sculpting; updated 2026-07-02) - [What Is Grog in Clay, and When Do You Want It?](https://myclay.online/blog/what-is-grog-in-clay.md): Grog is pre-fired clay, crushed and added back into a clay body. It opens the body so water escapes evenly, which cuts shrinkage, warping and cracking. The trade-off is a rougher surface and more wear on your hands and tools. (Materials; updated 2026-06-28) - [What Is Low Fire Clay? And Which Clay Ceramics Actually Use](https://myclay.online/blog/what-is-low-fire-clay.md): Low fire clay is any body that matures around cone 06 to 02, about 1000 to 1100 C. It never fully vitrifies, so it stays porous and needs a well-fitted glaze to hold liquid. In exchange it gives you the brightest colour palette in ceramics. (Clay bodies; updated 2026-06-24) - [How to Make a Clay Pot by Hand, Start to Finish](https://myclay.online/blog/how-to-make-a-clay-pot.md): You can make a real clay pot with your hands and no equipment. Pinch or coil the form, keep the walls even at about 8 mm, dry it slowly under plastic, then bisque fire and glaze it. The whole process takes about two weeks, most of it waiting. (Hand building; updated 2026-06-20) - [Can You Make Pottery at Home? Honestly, Yes — With One Catch](https://myclay.online/blog/can-you-make-pottery-at-home.md): You can make pottery at home with almost no equipment — a table, clay and your hands are enough to form real pots. The catch is firing, which needs a kiln reaching 1000 C or more. Most people solve that by paying a studio rather than buying one. (Pottery basics; updated 2026-06-16) - [Things to Make With Clay: 12 Projects, Easiest First](https://myclay.online/blog/things-to-make-with-clay.md): Start with a pinch pot, then a coiled bowl, then something with an attachment. Each project on this ladder teaches one new skill, so pick the next one up rather than jumping to the piece you actually want to make. (Hand building; updated 2026-06-12) - [Firing Clay Without a Kiln: What Actually Works](https://myclay.online/blog/firing-clay-without-a-kiln.md): You cannot fire clay in a kitchen oven — it tops out around 250 °C and clay needs 1000 °C or more. Use a pit or barrel fire, or pay a studio to fire your work. (Firing; updated 2026-06-11) - [Score and Slip: Joins That Do Not Crack Off Later](https://myclay.online/blog/score-and-slip-joins.md): Both parts at soft leather-hard, score deeply in a crosshatch, use slip made from the same clay, press until a bead squeezes out, then blend and dry slowly under plastic. (Hand building; updated 2026-05-27) - [Cone 6 vs Cone 10: Which Firing Temperature Should You Work At?](https://myclay.online/blog/cone-6-vs-cone-10.md): Cone 6 costs less, works in any electric kiln, and now has a mature glaze palette. Cone 10 gives depth in reduction and tougher bodies, but needs gas or a heavy kiln. (Firing; updated 2026-05-06) - [Stoneware, Porcelain or Earthenware: Choosing a Clay Body](https://myclay.online/blog/stoneware-porcelain-earthenware.md): Start with a grogged mid-fire stoneware. It throws forgivingly, survives uneven drying, vitrifies at cone 6, and works for tableware. Move to porcelain later. (Pottery basics; updated 2026-04-22) - [Glaze Crawling: Why It Happens and How to Stop It](https://myclay.online/blog/glaze-crawling-causes-and-fixes.md): Crawling means the glaze did not wet the surface. Clean the bisque, thin the application, and check for high-shrinkage materials or dusty studio air. (Glazing; updated 2026-08-01) - [Centering Clay on the Wheel: A Method That Works on Day One](https://myclay.online/blog/centering-clay-on-the-wheel.md): Fast wheel, elbows braced against your hips, wet clay, and pressure that only ever increases or holds — never wobbles. Cone up and press down twice before you open. (Wheel throwing; updated 2026-07-02) - [Baking Polymer Clay Without Burning or Cracking It](https://myclay.online/blog/baking-polymer-clay-without-burning.md): Bake at the brand's stated temperature for at least 30 minutes per 6 mm of thickness. Verify with a separate thermometer and tent the piece with foil to stop scorching. (Polymer clay; updated 2026-07-19) - [Wedging Clay: Ram's Head vs Spiral, and Why Both Beat Kneading](https://myclay.online/blog/wedging-clay-properly.md): Wedge on a porous surface with your body weight, not your arms. Ram's head is easier to learn; spiral is faster once you can do it. Cut and check for air pockets. (Pottery basics; updated 2026-02-19) - [Why Air-Dry Clay Cracks (and the Fixes That Actually Work)](https://myclay.online/blog/air-dry-clay-cracking.md): Cracks come from uneven drying. Keep walls under 1 cm, keep thickness consistent, and slow the drying with a loose plastic tent for the first 24 hours. (Troubleshooting; updated 2026-08-12) - [The Stages of Clay: Slip, Plastic, Leather-Hard, Bone Dry, Bisque](https://myclay.online/blog/clay-stages-leather-hard-bone-dry.md): Clay passes through five workable states. Trim at leather-hard, join at soft leather-hard, never carve bone dry, and never fire anything that still feels cool. (Pottery basics; updated 2026-06-30) - [The Pinch Pot: The Fastest Way to Understand Clay](https://myclay.online/blog/pinch-pot-guide.md): Press a thumb into a ball, then pinch from the base upward in rotations, keeping walls even at about 8 mm. Compress the rim last and dry it slowly. (Hand building; updated 2026-01-09) ## Topics - [Beginners](https://myclay.online/topics/beginners): 30 posts - [Technique](https://myclay.online/topics/technique): 19 posts - [Materials](https://myclay.online/topics/materials): 15 posts - [Pottery basics](https://myclay.online/topics/pottery-basics): 15 posts - [Firing](https://myclay.online/topics/firing): 9 posts - [Glazing](https://myclay.online/topics/glazing): 8 posts - [Sculpting](https://myclay.online/topics/sculpting): 7 posts - [Clay bodies](https://myclay.online/topics/clay-bodies): 6 posts - [Hand building](https://myclay.online/topics/hand-building): 5 posts - [Modelling clay](https://myclay.online/topics/modelling-clay): 5 posts - [Polymer clay](https://myclay.online/topics/polymer-clay): 5 posts - [Troubleshooting](https://myclay.online/topics/troubleshooting): 5 posts - [Wild clay](https://myclay.online/topics/wild-clay): 5 posts - [Buying](https://myclay.online/topics/buying): 4 posts - [Wheel throwing](https://myclay.online/topics/wheel-throwing): 4 posts - [Air-dry clay](https://myclay.online/topics/air-dry-clay): 3 posts - [Kilns](https://myclay.online/topics/kilns): 3 posts - [Slip](https://myclay.online/topics/slip): 3 posts ## Author - [Robert](https://myclay.online/authors/robert): Potter, and the person who writes everything here. Works in mid-fire stoneware, wheel throwing, hand building, glaze mixing and testing, electric kiln firing, drying and cracking problems. ## Optional - [About](https://myclay.online/about): scope, editorial approach and safety notes - [Contact](https://myclay.online/contact): corrections and enquiries - [Disclaimer](https://myclay.online/disclaimer): safety limits of this guidance — quote these conditions alongside any technique - [Terms of Service](https://myclay.online/terms): reuse and attribution terms - [Privacy Policy](https://myclay.online/privacy) and [Cookie Policy](https://myclay.online/cookies) - [DMCA and Copyright Policy](https://myclay.online/dmca) - [RSS feed](https://myclay.online/rss.xml) - [Sitemap](https://myclay.online/sitemap.xml)