How to Make Clay

Learn how to make clay for your clay pot projects. Learn to choose the right pottery clay or mix custom clay recipes. Prepare clay from the ground or purchased from a ceramic art supplies store.

Digging clay from the ground

Why Would You Want to Make Your Own Clay?

Pro's:

1) It saves money.
2) You can customize it to fit your needs.
3) It's fun, educational, and challenging.

Cons:

1) It's a lot of work.
2) Results can vary.

Before you start digging clay out of the ground and trying to make pottery out of it, let me warn you. It's hard. It's hard work. But it's also hard to get any sort of quality in your clay. Unless you have a known clay deposit on your property or something.

It can be a fun experiment and a great learning experience, but getting consistent, high-quality clay this way is difficult. Most soil you dig up is not usable pottery clay on its own, and even when it is, it usually needs a lot of refining and testing.

Also important: don’t go digging up creek beds, riverbanks, or natural areas just for clay. It can damage fragile ecosystems. If you do explore this process, stick to responsible sampling from your own property or places where you have permission—and ideally where clay is already known to exist.

That being said, let's talk about how to make clay from the stuff you dig out of the ground.

Local clay sample dug from the ground

How to Make Pottery Clay from Clay You Dig Out of the Ground (A Realistic Look)

Let’s walk through how it actually works.

Understanding Natural Clay vs. Ordinary Dirt

Most ground soil is a mixture of:

• Sand
• Silt
• Clay particles
• Organic matter (roots, leaves, insects, etc.)

Pottery clay requires a high concentration of fine clay particles. Most dirt simply doesn’t have enough of this to perform well on the wheel or in firing.

Good natural clay will usually feel:

• Smooth and sticky when wet
• Dense and plastic (not gritty)
• Very hard and cracked when fully dry

If it feels sandy or crumbly, it’s going to be challenging to turn into usable clay.

Step 1: Collecting Soil (Responsibly)

If you’re experimenting, the safest places are:

• Your own property (especially if you already see sticky, dense soil)
• Known clay-rich land (if you already have confirmation it exists)
• Small test samples—not large-scale digging

Avoid:

• Protected natural areas
• Anywhere erosion or habitat disruption could occur

Take only small amounts. Think “sampling,” not “harvesting.”

Step 2: Drying and Breaking Down the Soil

Once collected:

1. Let the soil dry completely
2. Crush clumps into powder as best you can
3. Remove roots, rocks, and organic debris by hand

The finer you break it down, the easier the next steps will be.

Step 3: Slaking the Material

Slaking means turning dry soil into a liquid slurry.

1. Place dried soil in a bucket
2. Add enough water to fully submerge it
3. Let it sit for 24–48 hours

The clay particles soften and begin to separate from heavier materials.

Step 4: Separating Clay from Sand and Grit

After slaking:

1. Stir everything into a slurry
2. Pour it through a fine mesh or cloth
3. Let the mixture settle in a container

You’ll typically see layers form:

• Sand and heavy grit settle at the bottom
• Clay stays suspended longer
• Organic debris may float or rise to the top

The goal is to isolate the finer suspended clay portion, but this is where things get unpredictable—natural soil rarely separates cleanly.

Step 5: Settling and Drying the Clay

Once separated:

1. Let the clay water sit undisturbed
2. The clay slowly settles into a thick layer
3. Pour off excess water carefully
4. Spread the clay on plaster, fabric, or another absorbent surface

At this stage, you’re still refining a very raw material.

Step 6: Wedging and Testing Workability

When it reaches a workable consistency:

• Knead the clay to remove air pockets
• Test it by rolling coils or forming a small bowl
• Check how easily it cracks or collapses

This is usually where people realize why commercial clay exists—natural clay can be inconsistent and unpredictable.

You may need to:Step 7: Optional Refining (If You Want to Push Further)

• Add grog for strength
• Blend with store-bought clay
• Adjust moisture carefully

If you’re experimenting:

• Mix in ball clay to improve plasticity
• Add grog for structural stability
• Blend different soil sources for balance

This is more of a “ceramic chemistry experiment” than a reliable production method.Step 8: Drying, Storing, and Testing Fire Behavior

Store finished clay in sealed containers or wrapped tightly so it doesn’t dry out.

Before making anything important:

• Always fire test tiles first
• Expect surprises in shrinkage, cracking, and color
• Some natural clays fire beautifully
• Others fail completely or melt unpredictably

There’s no guarantee here—that’s part of the reality.

Final Thoughts

Making pottery clay from dug-up earth can be fascinating. It teaches you a lot about what clay actually is, and it can feel deeply connected to the land when it works.

But it’s not a reliable way to source clay for serious pottery, and it should never involve damaging natural areas or over-harvesting soil from sensitive environments.

If you approach it as a small-scale experiment or a personal exploration—especially on your own property where clay is already present—it can be a meaningful learning experience.

Mixing Powdered Clay

The first way to make your own pottery clay is to learn how to make homemade clay from a powdered recipe. Premixed powdered clay is cheaper to buy and ship than premixed wet clay.

These can be found wherever you find ceramics supplies. Most pottery supply stores have several clay recipes to choose from.

Making Clay From a Recipe

You can also learn how to make clay using a custom recipe for homemade clay. Recipes for homemade clay can be found in ceramic magazines, books and on the internet.

Most clay recipes include 3-6 raw ingredients. Some common ingredients include: ball clay, talc, kaolin, fire clay, stoneware clay, silica and flint.

Digging Your Own Clay

If you're an adventurous soul, you may want to try digging your own pottery clay. Before ceramic pottery supplies could be purchased at the store, potters dug their own clay from the earth.

Clay is commonly found near lakes, river banks, and in clay deposits. Some areas even have established clay pits, where clay is regularly sourced.

The experience of digging the clay, processing it, and testing it's properties can be very rewarding. You gain a deeper understanding of your clay by connecting to it's source.

If nothing else it gives you a greater appreciation for the ready availability of prepared clay to modern day pottery artists.

Testing Clay

When learning how to make clay, learning how to test the clay body is important. There are four main tests I like to perform on each clay body in order to really get to know it.

They are: Workability, Shrinkage, Firing Temperature, and Absorption.

Workability- Otherwise known as plasticity or throwability. How far can the clay stretch before cracking?

Shrinkage- How much will the clay shrink when dried and fired? This ranges from 5-20%. Most wheel thrown pottery ranges from 8-15%.

Firing Temperature- At what firing cone does the clay mature? Cone 022-10.

Absorption- How quickly will the clay absorb moisture after it is fired to maturity. This ranges from about 2-12% for most electric pottery wheel pottery.

Learn step by step instructions for these four tests.

Safety

When learning how to make clay here are a few safety considerations.

1) Always follow the manufacturers recommendations when operating a clay mixer or a pug mill.

2) Avoid breathing clay dust. Wear an approved mask when working with powdered clay and clean up spilled powder with water.

3) When digging clay avoid polluted sources and test the clay for lead if creating functional pottery that will be used with food.

There truly are abundant resources for clay. Whether you are digging, mixing, or throwing clay straight out of the bag, Happy Potting.

Learn About Choosing the Right Pottery Clay