Expert: Leisha Hiester - 1/15/2009

Question
I am always looking to do something offbeat. I read where some potters put organic matter like coffee grounds, rice or rice hulls, other starchy stuff in clay and get "great" results when bisque fired.
My two ideas are first, what about embedding Cheerio's in the side of a cylinder as a decoration? Ever seen this and would I get the perfect circles that define Cheerio's and
to counter the question that no question is completely stupid what about mixing into the clay when wedging or after rolling a slab:  


POPCORN!.

Might make the kiln a little noisy but what kind of results would you expect?

Just curious

Thanks

Steve

Answer
Steven,

I applaud you for thinking and going outside the box(es)! I've done some experimenting also like this. It can be fun. Basically, the organic matter mixed in the clay burns out in the firing leaving an interesting texture or pattern.

Why not try some small test pieces before you risk a pot? You might want to have an old kiln dedicated to this and have a vacumn handy to keep your kiln cleaned out in between blow outs, I mean firings.

Ha! I like the way you think. You could have your snack and some new results. I'd just hold off on the butter.
Let me know what you come up with. Leisha