That's a wonderful pot, I loved both the colors and the designs! I like to flatter myself that I'm a possible inspiration for the "embrace the wonkiness" theme, since I can out-wonk anybody I know!
that is spectacular! lack of words,... Thank you for sharing this! I am blown away! That red, may have been closer to the red that the original pot was before it had aged for couple hundred years. When they were using it, it looked just like that,.. I imagine!
@@AncientPottery between Cliff and Reserve or on the other side of the San Frans.? I am interested,... I am also wondering if you were going to have extra room on the way to the Kiln conference? If we could catch a ride with you, we would be happy to pay for fuel round trip. We would also be happy to help out with the conference in any way. Let me know if you think this could be a possibility... Thanks! I will e-mail you in the next day or two.
I like the message. My mom didn't even measure when she cooked, just did it by feel. I like to do that sometimes now, always gives you something a little different
I’m surprised that adding tea to the white slip doesn’t change its color. You can dye cloth with (black) tea. It comes our anywhere from light amber to brown, depending on how long you leave the cloth in the tea.
Thanks for the video, and sticking with the format. Ancient pottery styles and improving your videography are two very different skills. I’ve watched your videos for a while. I have yet to find to find a good stash of workable clay. People in my area (Northwest Territories in Canada) didn’t traditionally make pottery, Dene down south must have learned it from others, thought there’s clay everywhere. I’m still super interested, so know that your videos are helping inspire others.
Nice, I live in Fort Nelson . From my limited experience I have found workable clay not down by the big rivers but rather up above the flood plain just under the black dirt ( about 18" down) I did use the wet processing method and after that I added sand Like Andy recommends . If that doesn't help you I have about 5-10 pounds of clay processed from last summer I can leave out for you on the off chance you happen to be passing by.
Thanks. There is clay almost everywhere, chances are you just haven't learned what to look for or where to look. The Dine learned pottery from the plains tribes.
@@AncientPottery in the NWT he might be far enough north to not have too much soil. I live in the Liard watershed a little upstream of this fella. Once you get to Great Bear Lake the land changes quite a bit from what I’m used to. The Dine of Arizona and Dene of Northern Canada speak the same language (give or take)but there’s a few thousand miles in between them
My foray into the driveway in the 'big vehicle trap' was a bust, too much caliche in there. It's been raining off and on for two days , so my next search is going to be the green looking bentonite(I THINK it's bentonite) layer on a big hilltop headed south toward Study Butte.
@@seanfaherty I lived near Vanderhoof and brought some blue clay found in a nearby lake back with me to Arizona. It’s in storage so I haven’t been able to work with it yet. Hopefully it will be workable.
As human beings we are all made to the same recipe and all pretty much the same basic shape yet all so very different. Some of us are more wonky than others; I embraced my wonkiness years ago lol 😂. I love your work and embracing the wonkiness is the way to go in every creative endeavour. Thank you 🙏
The elegant freehand painting is most admirable. Wonkiness shouldn't be an objective, but a by-product of a hand-made object. The aim of prehistoric potters with artistic aspirations working by hand must have been shape perfection, which sometimes they nearly achieved.
Whoa, this turned out really well! Awesome work on the paint job, that pot sure had a lot of details. Really interesting about that tea. Great, and fun video to watch Andy!
One thing I have found is mesquite bean juice from boiling beans helps my clay dry more evenly and not crack . I brush the sweet syrup on the outside of my Mimbres bowls. Which is also giving me a greyish color to the outside of my bowls after firing, I assume from carbon / iron reduction. Anyway, the tea is an interesting try! I have also experimented with morman tea that grows here in the Mimbres valley
@@AncientPottery I think your on to something Andy! Now who is the chemist ??! Willow trees = tannins Willow tree in Spanish is Mimbres , the valley named by the Spanish after the many little willow trees . More test fires coming up !
I got the same infrared thermometer as you a while back and oh my gosh it’s battery gets finicky sometimes, and you’re right that tiny screw is really annoying. But, in general it’s helped me a lot to get consistent firings, so I guess it’s worth it for the fairly cheap price of the device
As an equal victim of the pursuit of perfection, there's been as many times where I've bowed to Good Enough as there's something to be said for enjoying Random Chance trying to balance out Random Chaos. Imperfections build character and naturally lend to a greater, more interesting story. In my mind, I'm imagining a dead even, mass produced white pot versus a hand-laid, slightly wobbly iron-hued diamond in the rough. Which one would you rather stare at for hours, wondering what kind of story it will tell you? Some people are drawn to imperfections and seek them out, while others will unfathomably gravitate towards white and bland. Somehow this whole idea is me trying to walk the line between not favoring form or function, but enjoying both.
@@AncientPottery Had to take a dinner break to finish your vid, but I was discussing tannins with someone recently (who it was I've forgotten but I'm pretty sure it was on youtube) as I use a few naturally-sourced tannins in my composite work as suspension agents from time to time. Sodium silicate is normally what is used in commercial glazes as a deflocculant which is equally cheap and accessible, though I like to get the powdered version from chemical supply houses as you get quite a lot more for your money and can play with ratios. As a nice aside, the silicate will moderately increase the strength of the application surface when fired if used as a surface treatment (and glaze additive) in minimal percentages, like a few grams per gallon. A slip formula I made in my notebook of goodies said I used 12 grams of sodium silicate per ten pounds of clay with 3 grams of wood ash with 64oz water. I would imagine, other than affecting color, the tannins would substitute one for one in a slip-based paint. Ah, found it. The tannins I found were from the Quebacho tree (only selected for its higher concentration in this instance) and another was a was a lab grade high purity in a rather small bottle. The former I got off Amazon of all places and came in a kilo bag for I think $14 earlier this year. The tannic acid that makes the deflocculant effect has been found to be the highest in black tea leaves as you noted (also in a lot of domestic hardwood trees, wine grapes, varying levels in plants and other things I've forgotten), though between it and sodium silicate, I guess it would depend on what you want out of it in the end product as to which would work better.
So many things are good about this video. Your story telling and production is really top notch and as difficult as it is, it is nice to see the pot made from beginning to end. On the wonkiness quotient, I would give this pot a 2 on a 10 point scale. You have to try harder if you want to excel in the world of wonkiness. 🙂Its a very nice jar.
Yeah, maybe this isn't the best pot to use as an example of wonkiness, but the principle is still sound. Perhaps it is an example of how precision often leads to good things or sometimes to strange things and both are good. Thanks Wes!
Who were these strangers in a strange land and from where did they immigrate? I am a devoted follower and about to begin my exploration of Ancient Pottery.
Your videos are not just enjoyable to watch but are inspiring to get my new Yellowstone river clay (about 6’ deep in the river cut) and process it. I know I want to add some vinegar to see if it fizzes. I need to levigated it because of vegetable matter and stones. I’ve already done a plasticity test so I am expecting it to be workable. I don’t know how strong it will be to work with when wet or what colors it will be when fired. So, today will be processing and making test tiles as well as a simple pot to see how strong it is. The clay at my house (Hyde Creek) in Central Montana, has next to zero wet strength but I like it’s colors so I’ve made a coffee cup and small strainer from the Ancient Potters weekly Zoom get together. Ha. I still haven’t fired it yet. But I also plan to make a slip out of my HC clay and paint it on and fire in my kiln to see if I get a green color at high heat. I know it’s not ancient pottery but fun for me. Thanks Andy
Thanks Jeff. I'll be collecting some clay in the Yellowstone Valley myself in a few weeks. Maybe when I drive up to Helena to visit Gene we can do a firing together.
@@AncientPottery Oh I’ll be there!!! I’m a comin!!!! Gene will have to use his masterful military skills to keep me away!!! Lol I’ll bring a pot or two to fire to see how it goes!!!
Most cultures that have a great artisanal tradition, embrace wonkiness. In Irish crochet lace, they always said that you put a piece of yourself into your work, and a mistake HAD to be included to allow that to escape. I some carpet making traditions, perfection was considered to be an attribute of Allah, and for a human to produce something "perfect" was an affront, so a "mistake" was always included. I don't even like to consider them mistakes because while theyre not always intentional, they're still a part of the piece. Perfection is the enemy of art, of any kind. So much time can be wasted trying to achieve "perfection" instead of just MAKING.
Love what you teach....This is the only channel I have not trolled once....I show my best behavior out of much respect and admiration....It is a most fortunate thing for you....Keep up the good work Andy.
Hi , Andy. My name is Terry . I just found your channel . I've always wanted to do some pottery . But didn't want to build or buy the special equipment. I'm sure I'll have some questions for you if you don't mind . Thank you for sharing . Terry The type of clay or technique that is used to make oolas . I think you know what they are if not, they are clay water vessels the are porous and give up water at a slow rate they were put in gardens to water their plants in a controlled manner . I'd like to learn how. To dosome of those . Do you think you could do a video or two showing the steps perhaps doing one .
Thank you , Andy . I live in Missouri I hope local natural clays will be good enough ? There were Indians around here for centuries, I wonder if they used clay ware ?
What would happen if dry clay powder were mixed with plant or animal oil and formed into a pot to be fired? Might be an interesting experiment and video. I've always been fascinated with the idea of a permanent wick for oil lamps. I wonder if long straight hairs could be laid in a cylinder of clay. When the clay is fired the hairs would burn away, leaving tiny tunnels in the cylinder that would wick up oil by capillary action. Another interesting experiment maybe
amazing pot btw. as someone who does experimental archaeology stuff relating to medieval europe, i am in awe of your dedication to your craft and an empathetic reconstruction of these ancient everyday objects
I really loved the form of the pot. It looked so light - almost as if it were inflated. The decoration were also very good.
Thank you
That's a wonderful pot, I loved both the colors and the designs! I like to flatter myself that I'm a possible inspiration for the "embrace the wonkiness" theme, since I can out-wonk anybody I know!
LOL, thanks Dave.
Ahh, stop trying to steal my wonk thunder! LOL! I am the wonk master, looks like I make my pottery in the dark....
that is spectacular! lack of words,... Thank you for sharing this! I am blown away! That red, may have been closer to the red that the original pot was before it had aged for couple hundred years. When they were using it, it looked just like that,.. I imagine!
Thank you! Shoot me an email if you want the location of that yellow, it's about 3 hours SW of you.
@@AncientPottery between Cliff and Reserve or on the other side of the San Frans.? I am interested,... I am also wondering if you were going to have extra room on the way to the Kiln conference? If we could catch a ride with you, we would be happy to pay for fuel round trip. We would also be happy to help out with the conference in any way. Let me know if you think this could be a possibility... Thanks! I will e-mail you in the next day or two.
I like the message. My mom didn't even measure when she cooked, just did it by feel. I like to do that sometimes now, always gives you something a little different
That's the way I like to work with natural clay and pigments. Thanks
Good Morning Andy, Happy Mother's Day, Happy Mother's Day Everyone ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks
I’m surprised that adding tea to the white slip doesn’t change its color. You can dye cloth with (black) tea. It comes our anywhere from light amber to brown, depending on how long you leave the cloth in the tea.
I think it made the white clay a little darker as I was painting it but of course all the tea burned away in the fire leaving pure white.
Yes, I agree. I have been dyeing my good shirts and jeans with tea and coffee now for over 50 years, lol.
Thanks for the video, and sticking with the format. Ancient pottery styles and improving your videography are two very different skills. I’ve watched your videos for a while. I have yet to find to find a good stash of workable clay. People in my area (Northwest Territories in Canada) didn’t traditionally make pottery, Dene down south must have learned it from others, thought there’s clay everywhere. I’m still super interested, so know that your videos are helping inspire others.
Nice,
I live in Fort Nelson . From my limited experience I have found workable clay not down by the big rivers but rather up above the flood plain just under the black dirt ( about 18" down) I did use the wet processing method and after that I added sand Like Andy recommends .
If that doesn't help you I have about 5-10 pounds of clay processed from last summer I can leave out for you on the off chance you happen to be passing by.
Thanks. There is clay almost everywhere, chances are you just haven't learned what to look for or where to look. The Dine learned pottery from the plains tribes.
@@AncientPottery in the NWT he might be far enough north to not have too much soil. I live in the Liard watershed a little upstream of this fella. Once you get to Great Bear Lake the land changes quite a bit from what I’m used to.
The Dine of Arizona and Dene of Northern Canada speak the same language (give or take)but there’s a few thousand miles in between them
My foray into the driveway in the 'big vehicle trap' was a bust, too much caliche in there. It's been raining off and on for two days , so my next search is going to be the green looking bentonite(I THINK it's bentonite) layer on a big hilltop headed south toward Study Butte.
@@seanfaherty
I lived near Vanderhoof and brought some blue clay found in a nearby lake back with me to Arizona. It’s in storage so I haven’t been able to work with it yet. Hopefully it will be workable.
As human beings we are all made to the same recipe and all pretty much the same basic shape yet all so very different. Some of us are more wonky than others; I embraced my wonkiness years ago lol 😂. I love your work and embracing the wonkiness is the way to go in every creative endeavour. Thank you 🙏
Great observation, thanks for sharing your thoughts on wonkiness.
The elegant freehand painting is most admirable. Wonkiness shouldn't be an objective, but a by-product of a hand-made object. The aim of prehistoric potters with artistic aspirations working by hand must have been shape perfection, which sometimes they nearly achieved.
We are spoiled by perfect, factory made products and that gives us unrealistic expectations that out ancestors didn't have.
You really made me want to learn about ancient pottery. Your work is amazing and great video!!
Awesome, thanks
Love that yellow gold color
Whoa, this turned out really well! Awesome work on the paint job, that pot sure had a lot of details. Really interesting about that tea. Great, and fun video to watch Andy!
Thanks Will.
Andy, that pot is beautiful! Amazing work. Thank you for sharing the making.
Thanks
The pot is beautiful!
Thanks
5:04 Tucson Arizona represent ✊🏼💯
Your pot looks great !
Thanks
Nice work there..im going to try the tea method on a few whites i use..Also the tip on soaking the brushes first, something i never do..
Thanks
That is one gorgeous pot!
Thank you
One thing I have found is mesquite bean juice from boiling beans helps my clay dry more evenly and not crack . I brush the sweet syrup on the outside of my Mimbres bowls. Which is also giving me a greyish color to the outside of my bowls after firing, I assume from carbon / iron reduction. Anyway, the tea is an interesting try! I have also experimented with morman tea that grows here in the Mimbres valley
You are always the chemist. Interesting findings. If tannins are the secret ingredients in the tea then oak leaves might work even better.
@@AncientPottery wondering about little willow tree leaves 🤔
@@AncientPottery I think your on to something Andy! Now who is the chemist ??! Willow trees = tannins
Willow tree in Spanish is Mimbres , the valley named by the Spanish after the many little willow trees . More test fires coming up !
@@coopart1 Nice! I just finished a reduced iron paint firing this morning and am editing the video right now.
@@AncientPottery can’t wait to see it !!
I got the same infrared thermometer as you a while back and oh my gosh it’s battery gets finicky sometimes, and you’re right that tiny screw is really annoying. But, in general it’s helped me a lot to get consistent firings, so I guess it’s worth it for the fairly cheap price of the device
Yes, totally worth the trouble.
Wow! That pot came out beautifully!
Also appreciated the slip-up pun.
It was unintended at the time I made it, but I did catch it in editing. Thanks.
I love this video! And I love how that pot turned out. Great work Andy and excellent information. Your videos are top notch. 👍
Thanks a lot!
As an equal victim of the pursuit of perfection, there's been as many times where I've bowed to Good Enough as there's something to be said for enjoying Random Chance trying to balance out Random Chaos. Imperfections build character and naturally lend to a greater, more interesting story. In my mind, I'm imagining a dead even, mass produced white pot versus a hand-laid, slightly wobbly iron-hued diamond in the rough. Which one would you rather stare at for hours, wondering what kind of story it will tell you? Some people are drawn to imperfections and seek them out, while others will unfathomably gravitate towards white and bland.
Somehow this whole idea is me trying to walk the line between not favoring form or function, but enjoying both.
True, as I learned when I first started working as a web designer, "there's no accounting for taste".
@@AncientPottery Had to take a dinner break to finish your vid, but I was discussing tannins with someone recently (who it was I've forgotten but I'm pretty sure it was on youtube) as I use a few naturally-sourced tannins in my composite work as suspension agents from time to time. Sodium silicate is normally what is used in commercial glazes as a deflocculant which is equally cheap and accessible, though I like to get the powdered version from chemical supply houses as you get quite a lot more for your money and can play with ratios. As a nice aside, the silicate will moderately increase the strength of the application surface when fired if used as a surface treatment (and glaze additive) in minimal percentages, like a few grams per gallon. A slip formula I made in my notebook of goodies said I used 12 grams of sodium silicate per ten pounds of clay with 3 grams of wood ash with 64oz water. I would imagine, other than affecting color, the tannins would substitute one for one in a slip-based paint.
Ah, found it. The tannins I found were from the Quebacho tree (only selected for its higher concentration in this instance) and another was a was a lab grade high purity in a rather small bottle. The former I got off Amazon of all places and came in a kilo bag for I think $14 earlier this year. The tannic acid that makes the deflocculant effect has been found to be the highest in black tea leaves as you noted (also in a lot of domestic hardwood trees, wine grapes, varying levels in plants and other things I've forgotten), though between it and sodium silicate, I guess it would depend on what you want out of it in the end product as to which would work better.
@@C-M-E Thanks for the chemistry lesson, good stuff.
Good video the Red clay paint I sent you will stay bright when it's fired
Thanks, good to know.
@@AncientPottery your welcome
That pot is gorgeous!
Beautiful pot! Love your videos. The colour combo of the yellow slip with the black and white before firing is gorgeous too!
Yes, I wish I could achieve yellow like that after firing, but it can't be done.
So many things are good about this video. Your story telling and production is really top notch and as difficult as it is, it is nice to see the pot made from beginning to end. On the wonkiness quotient, I would give this pot a 2 on a 10 point scale. You have to try harder if you want to excel in the world of wonkiness. 🙂Its a very nice jar.
Yeah, maybe this isn't the best pot to use as an example of wonkiness, but the principle is still sound. Perhaps it is an example of how precision often leads to good things or sometimes to strange things and both are good. Thanks Wes!
Lots of good advice in this video, thank you for the tips
You are welcome.
Who were these strangers in a strange land and from where did they immigrate? I am a devoted follower and about to begin my exploration of Ancient Pottery.
Certainly a question worthy of study
👍 Wonderful video! I like the nature out there in your area. The pot also came out really good.
Imho the colour is beautifully muted and contrasts with the glowing red inside which peeps out.
Thanks
Thanks. Although I was a bit disappointed right after firing it has grown on me.
@@AncientPottery 😀👍
Your videos are not just enjoyable to watch but are inspiring to get my new Yellowstone river clay (about 6’ deep in the river cut) and process it.
I know I want to add some vinegar to see if it fizzes. I need to levigated it because of vegetable matter and stones. I’ve already done a plasticity test so I am expecting it to be workable. I don’t know how strong it will be to work with when wet or what colors it will be when fired. So, today will be processing and making test tiles as well as a simple pot to see how strong it is.
The clay at my house (Hyde Creek) in Central Montana, has next to zero wet strength but I like it’s colors so I’ve made a coffee cup and small strainer from the Ancient Potters weekly Zoom get together. Ha. I still haven’t fired it yet. But I also plan to make a slip out of my HC clay and paint it on and fire in my kiln to see if I get a green color at high heat. I know it’s not ancient pottery but fun for me.
Thanks Andy
Thanks Jeff. I'll be collecting some clay in the Yellowstone Valley myself in a few weeks. Maybe when I drive up to Helena to visit Gene we can do a firing together.
@@AncientPottery Oh I’ll be there!!! I’m a comin!!!! Gene will have to use his masterful military skills to keep me away!!! Lol I’ll bring a pot or two to fire to see how it goes!!!
My Guy Andy is Genius i tell you 16:00
Very nice pot!
Thanks!
Lovely pot.
Thanks so much 😊
Most cultures that have a great artisanal tradition, embrace wonkiness. In Irish crochet lace, they always said that you put a piece of yourself into your work, and a mistake HAD to be included to allow that to escape. I some carpet making traditions, perfection was considered to be an attribute of Allah, and for a human to produce something "perfect" was an affront, so a "mistake" was always included. I don't even like to consider them mistakes because while theyre not always intentional, they're still a part of the piece. Perfection is the enemy of art, of any kind. So much time can be wasted trying to achieve "perfection" instead of just MAKING.
Thank you for that perspective on imperfections.
Great video, Thanks. Did the tea make the white paint better to paint with?
I think it did, but I need to try it side by side with and without tea to really see the difference.
Thanks
Love what you teach....This is the only channel I have not trolled once....I show my best behavior out of much respect and admiration....It is a most fortunate thing for you....Keep up the good work Andy.
If I say something stupid feel free
Thanks for that, I have a low tolerance for trolls. Glad you are enjoying my content.
Hi , Andy. My name is Terry . I just found your channel . I've always wanted to do some pottery . But didn't want to build or buy the special equipment. I'm sure I'll have some questions for you if you don't mind . Thank you for sharing .
Terry
The type of clay or technique that is used to make oolas . I think you know what they are if not, they are clay water vessels the are porous and give up water at a slow rate they were put in gardens to water their plants in a controlled manner . I'd like to learn how. To dosome of those . Do you think you could do a video or two showing the steps perhaps doing one .
Done, check out this video ruclips.net/video/TBos0j0FszU/видео.html
Thank you , Andy . I live in Missouri I hope local natural clays will be good enough ? There were Indians around here for centuries, I wonder if they used clay ware ?
What would happen if dry clay powder were mixed with plant or animal oil and formed into a pot to be fired? Might be an interesting experiment and video.
I've always been fascinated with the idea of a permanent wick for oil lamps. I wonder if long straight hairs could be laid in a cylinder of clay. When the clay is fired the hairs would burn away, leaving tiny tunnels in the cylinder that would wick up oil by capillary action. Another interesting experiment maybe
No idea, maybe you can try this and make a video
Jesus! That's amazing!
That's a very nice pot.
Thanks
How to fix a crack in my cooking pot and where to buy the clay from
Please tell me you have a Tshirt that says “Embrace The Wonkiness!”❤️🤗🐝
I guess I need to make it, thanks for the suggestion.
@@AncientPottery Yes, you do! I know people would buy it. And you’re welcome❤️🤗🐝
Please share the link to buy clay TIA
Is it always necessary to polish pots with stone?
In some cases it is, like I mention in this video, it helps to make that yellow slip permanent. In other cases polishing is personal preference.
Embrace your wonk❤
you could say you.... slipped up a little with your slip choice
amazing pot btw. as someone who does experimental archaeology stuff relating to medieval europe, i am in awe of your dedication to your craft and an empathetic reconstruction of these ancient everyday objects
Definitely
Thanks
👍😁
embrace the wonkiness...And....that's why I'm fat.. 😂
Merci !
Thank you so much!
How to fix a crack in my cooking pot and where to buy the clay from
I dig my own clay from nature, you cannot buy this stuff.
@@AncientPottery how to fix the crack in my cooking clay pot
@@AncientPottery can you please suggest where can I buy clay to seal my cooking pot that pot was really expensive I hardly used twice
@@ChaitanyaG-us8fd I don't think clay is used to seal cooking pots. Just cook some beans or something in it and it will seal.