|
Here is a year old bag of clay.
It was perfect a few monthes ago. Now, it is too hard to wedge. [ knead]
But, still moist.
First, knock a hole in the clay with a large dowel and a rubber mallet
or hammer. Stop about 3 inches [ 08mm ] from the bottom. Do not
go all the way through.
Fill the hole with a mixture of distilled vinegar
and water; one part vinegar to three parts water. After a few days, the clay
will have absorbed the solution.
Repeat as needed.
Old clay throws better than new. It is more " plastic "; workable.
It has more bacteria and is stickier. The vinegar thins the water
and makes it more workable.
Of course, you could soak the outside of the clay by filling the bag.
Please, go slowly. If the clay gets too soft, you will be drying
it out instead of softening it.
As an alturnitive, you can slice the clay with a wire in half inch
[1.5 mm ] slabs and soak it in water. Soak until it is soft enough
to wedge. Unfortunitly, it is easy to over soak the clay.
In this case, slice slabs off the hard clay and wedge them together
with softer clay.
It is laborious, but the clay is very “throwable”" " for
the wheel. And the clay is too expensive to discard.
 |
|
