Pottery by Osa
Okay, that was a very lovely encounter. The guy who contacted me is a surfer, born & raised in FL. He said the #clay had washed up in big balls onto the beach after the storms and that he’d never seen anything like it before. I told him that the hurricanes were such a material, psychological & spiritual upheaval for so many and that working with the clay would help me to continue to reflect on all that happened. More info in the #alttext
Dec 11 at 6:26pmIceCubesApp
Show threadPottery by OsaDec 22
I tested the #clay the surfer gave me and it turns out to be very similar to many other samples I’ve found in #Florida. The gray-to-yellow/off-white transformation, the high porosity even when fired to high temps—this is the most common type of clay I’ve found, not just in SW FL, but even in central and NE FL. #WildClay
Show threadPottery by OsaDec 22
It’s tough to make #pottery with this type of clay that we would deem functional. I’ve attempted to do so by combining it with commercially mined materials that help decrease porosity (or encourage vitrification.) In the end, I decided to honor its natural qualities instead of trying to force it to be something it isn’t. (Beautiful life lesson, right?) This is a sculptural vessel I made last year with minimally processed #Florida clay. #WildClay
Show threadJennifer Moore 😷Dec 22

@potterybyosa

Does that mean like: this type wouldn't be good at holding water, but you can use it to hold dry things or where you'd want a porous material or just to look beautiful? (which it does!)

Show threadCharlie 🏳️‍🌈🏴🫖(They/Them)Dec 22

@potterybyosa

I had never heard the term of Marine or Beach clay. Living close to the sea myself I'll have a look around to check if there could be any.

Also the colour it takes after firing is beautiful, it seems to me like the colour of the sand where you picked it up from almost. And the shape of the piece you made could be shaped left in the sand by the sea.

Show threadberserk du soleilDec 22
@potterybyosa gosh, this is so beautiful -- the angled soft stripes were such a great choice
Show threadtrachelipusDec 22

@potterybyosa That's a stunning vessel.

Is the beach clay so porous it wouldn't even be useful for something like an olla? The reason I'm asking is because I use terra cotta plant watering spikes, the kind that holds an inverted glass bottle and lets water from the bottle slowly leech into the soil. Some of my spikes aren't porous enough, so the soil dries out.

Show threadPreston AustinDec 22
@potterybyosa Can that sort of porous and relatively bleached outcome of firing be a result of volatile/organic materials in the grey unfired clay, like colorful ocean biostuffs that get cooked off when firing?
Show threadCadmusDec 11
@potterybyosa Super cool. @MLE_online has been foraging clay as well. I think @miah has also.
Show threadtakii <- freaky nasty gyalDec 11
@potterybyosa thats sooo cuteeeee! i love when humans do cute human sharing stuff hehe 
Show threadHumToTableDec 11
@potterybyosa I love everything about this.
Show threadKate ZimmermanDec 12
@potterybyosa what a lovely story! I'm so curious to see how you might adjust the clay and what happens when you fire it! Art experiments are the best 🧪