Clay Bodies (2017-11)¶

Clay is the basic building block of contemporary civilisation. The oldest permanent cities, constructed some 10,000 years ago, were built from unfi red mud bricks. Scientists theorise that this humble material also comprises the fundamental building blocks of life itself. One particular type of clay, Montmorillonite, is considered to be the material segue between matter that is not ‘alive’ and life, which began as a muddy stew of clay and water transformed into living matter by electrical charges from lightning, forming the fi rst microscopic structures that one fi nds in living cells.1 Clay is a combination of alumina, silica and chemically bonded water, and is primarily composed of feldspar, which over the course of millions of years is pulverised through water pressure and transformed into fi ne particles. Because clay is a product of ubiquitous geological processes, it can be found on every continent, is readily available and inexpensive, and has unique material properties. It exists in a vast spectrum of colours (ranging from white to red to black, with every shade and tint in between); and when fi red, it transforms into a stone-like material that lasts indefi nitely. In nature, however, clay typically is fairly homogeneous; but when the material is designed, it possesses far more varied characteristics. The wide range of techniques employed by a potter require clay recipes, which are referred to as a ‘clay bodies’. In addition to clay, clay bodies might include silica, grog (pulverised fi red ceramic), sand and other materials, which when combined are designed to respond to issues of fi ring, plasticity, colour, transparency, workability, warping, cracking, shrinkage, porosity, texture, strength and other important factors in the making of ceramics.