pug mill

Shown here is a mound of clay just reclaimed using our pug mill. Pieces of spent clay, trimmings, and damaged pots are reclaimed into a large plastic garage can. Water is added to the can to allow the dry clay to reconstitute and soften. The pug mill shown in the background is a large mixer. The wet clay and dry clay and even powdered clay is added into a hopper in proper proportions. There an auger with paddles, mixes and blends the clay into a more consistent substance. Along with mixing the clay, it is transported into a chamber where it is eventually pushed out a hole at the end of the barrel. This extrudes and compresses the clay into the square logs as shown in the picture. The clay comes out the end in a continuous stream like a Play Dough Fun Factory or toothpaste out from a tube. Someone then cuts it into uniform lengths using a wire like a cheese cutter. That created the stack of logs of clay shown in the photo. These then will be bagged four logs to a bag. Each bag will weigh about 50 pounds. The mound of clay shown is about 700 lbs. We do this about once a month. This clay is not ready to use just yet. It must sit for a few weeks to "season". The bacteria and other organics in the clay work to create the plasticity needed to be formed or thrown. This clay is softer and easier to work with than prepackaged clay.

Tomorrow Ronn, Jill, Kent and few interested others from the studio will travel about 70 miles north of Wichita to the little town of Marion, Kansas. There, we will visit Flint Hills Clay Works. This is a place that works with tons of clay. They send orders all over the country of clay dug out of the ground of the Flint Hills of Kansas. A future blog will talk about what we saw there.