primitive pottery making

[David_Daugherty]

I made an attempt at crafting a bowl primitive style, didn't quite turn out like I had envisioned.  I mixed clay, crushed clam shell, and hay.  Added water to get the consistency I wanted. Then rolled out pieces of clay and formed rings. began stacking and molding the rings to the form of a small bowl.  Let this dry for several days then attempted to fire it in my patio fireplace.  I think this is where I went wrong.  I don't think I reached the heat temperature I needed.  Has anyone else tried this? And if so any advice would be great.  Thanks David.

[Pat B]

David, I'm no potter but I think you have to get all the moisture out of the pot before fireing it. Any internal moisture will turn to steam and break the pot.

[M-P]

David,   In order for clay to turn into ceramic, real ceramic ( not just a pot shaped piece of kitty litter) you need to reach a temperature of 1000-2400 degrees Fahrenheit.  The exact temperature will depend on the composition of the clay you used.   The formed pot has to be dry and the heat has to be gradually increased to the proper temperature to avoid cracking.   A back yard fireplace is not going to be sufficient.  One has to wonder how the whole art of ceramics ever got started.   Obviously it did get figured out.   Moreover the people doing it new how to create the firing that would work with the clay they had.  I took ceramic classes for awhile and found it great fun.   We once tried making a small wood fired kiln, but even with experienced ceramics artists helping the kiln didn't reach a high enough temp for our high fire clay.   
Why did you add the hay to your clay?   It's a fine thing for holding together sun dried bricks, but it will burn out of any fired ceramic and leave holes = leaky pots.
I think what you want to research is "pit firing".   As you can imagine , first you dig a big hole in the ground.   Then you fill it with dried "green" pots and cover with a lot of fuel.   Then you start a fire and keep it burning for 12-24 hours and let everything cool slowly.   I've never been part of a pit fire, so my explanation leaves a lot of gaps to fill.  Ron

[David_Daugherty]

Thank you both for the replies.  Yes I did some research on pit firing and think I can get it to work.  I'll let ya'll know how it turns out this time.  Thanks again, David.

[Lone500]

it is possible to fire it in a back yard fire. from what i understand you build a ring fire around it and move it in as to gradually heat the pot up and get rid of excess moisture slowly. then you build it up and get it really really hot.

takes a lot of wood from what i understand.

read about it in one of John McPherson books.

ive been hankering to try pottery making as well. from what i understand a lot of clay just doesnt work well for pottery. would love to learn more about all of it.

[M-P]

Lone500 and Dave,   Pottery making is a very widespread hobby and it's quite likely that you can find someone nearby to help you.  Most potters will use commercial clay, but even then an experienced potter should be able to give you some tips on what to look for to obtain a usable clay.   You might check into ceramics classes at your local junior college. And yes, expect to use a lot of wood!    Ron

[tattoo dave]

I've done some pit firing of clay. Commercial clay though. Turned out great, but doesn't reach a temp that was needed to harden the clay enough to my liking. However, I'm sure that primitive potters were not too worried about that. As long as the piece was capable of doing it's intended job, it was good. I have made a few arrowheads from pit fired clay, looked awesome, but not hard enough. Anyway, there is an easier way to make a bowl. Flatten the clay and stretch it out as much as possible, like you would flatten a pie crust or cookie dough. Find a nice round rock, and use the rock as a mold, let it dry, then fire it. Before the clay is  completely dry remove it off the rock, it should be still a little soft, but firm enough where you don't need the mold anymore. One more trick, while it is air drying, lightly cover it with something. Most clays will crack if they air dry to fast. Well good luck, and we would love to see a few pics.

Tattoo Dave

[iowabow]

I teach ceramics at a community college and have done many pit fires. 
First you can do it in a pit or BBQ grill or half barrel. 
You must line the bottom of the pit etc with saw dust.  Then paper waded up.  Wrap each item with newspaper.  Start placing stick over the pots then larger ones.   You are making a very larger fire.  I kept adding fuel for hours then covered with tin.  Wait 24 hours before digging for pots. My pit would reach very high temps 1400.  Now my dome woodfire would go to 2000 and start to melt ash to the pots. The picture below is my dome kiln.  At first count on 50 percent breaking that will be normal till you figure things out. I can explain more of the detail if you pm your phone number. I will call you this weekend. 

[iowabow]

The clay I have on the land here will go to cone 6 easy and is melting at cone 7.  I have fired local clay without adding other stuff but the first images are of store bought clay bodies.  The post of the purple fish head is my clay. Images to follow soon

[iowabow]

[Justin Snyder]

The Anasazi used buffalo chips for fuel, it burns a lot hotter and longer than wood. It actually burns without visible flame, but some wood and buffalo chips (or dry cow pies) would have your temp up in no time. Invite your kids to roast marshmallows on the fire just for good measure. 

[sadiejane]

there are some great youtube vid on primitive pottery making
heres one of my favs tho not just pottery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKixTNLw7gY&feature=player_embedded

at bois d arc primitive skills camp every sept there are some folks who make pottery outta clay from a creek bed right where they camp.
i have not participated so have no experience...but have seen the results-amazing!

there are some primitive pottery vids from rabbitstick also
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J01DINnnNC4

[JW_Halverson]

Osage burns hot.  Osage scraps are a natural byproduct of bow building.  I'm seeing a natural progression here...

[iowabow]

Here is a picture of the pit after firing

[JW_Halverson]

Hey I-owe-a-bow!  How did you get the color striations on those pots, was it glaze or just the way the burning material reacted with the pots?