Andy, you inspire me with all the work you do and lay down in front of us all so that we don't have to go through all of the processes, all the different clays, showing us how to make the pieces, painting and types of paints that can be used, types of firing, finished pieces. and there is more that you share with us all. When i watch a video of you making pottery. I have to go and make something out of clay even if i have to stay up late to do it. Pottery has opened up a new world for me and i really enjoy it. I appreciate you Andy/Teacher Thank You.
@SJ-bn7kz2 жыл бұрын
Andy, I'm following this trip you're on with huge interest. From a rather waterlogged farm in Cumbria, England! You are a special talent, in my very humble opinion.
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Thank you SJ. I would love to visit England some time, my ancestral homeland.
@marciacunningham58772 жыл бұрын
Curiosity, experimenting, learning from failures...The stuff life is made of, maybe for. Michael
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Definitely!
@ndoghouse68537 ай бұрын
One thing for sure is sand is highly porus. No way to get ruducing invironment with only an inch or less sand over it. For what its worth im a geologist. Clay rich dirt is what you need to block the oxygen. Sand works to spread the heat evenly around your pottery but not to block oxygen. A thin layer of dirt on top that sand probably would have gotten you the reducing environment. Im new to pottery but not new to rocks and soil. Thanks for all your intructions. Im just learning all this stuff. Im lucky to have a road cut next to my property so i got all colors at my disposal. Should be fun! Thx!
@AncientPottery7 ай бұрын
Thanks for the info.
@manuelsilva69262 жыл бұрын
I just made some bowls glazed with salt, hight temperature and also a iron oxid piece was inside of the kiln. The finished bowls were glazed in salt, ash and perfect black iron oxid...
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Cool, I have no experience with glaze or kiln firing, so its always good to learn what people are doing.
@coopart12 жыл бұрын
Andy you know I have been working on this for some time! I’m closing in ! One thing I will say, a pot with fugitive red color refired again will get darker and darker but I’m not sure that was how they did , but some pots may have just been in the fire many times
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for that tip Jeff. I am going to refire this soon so we will see.
@thehappypotter96122 жыл бұрын
Somebody mentioned on one of the FB groups that iron oxide should be painted on very thinly to go black when firing. On newsprint, the lettering should still show through
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
I wonder why that would be? With the lead glaze I have been experimenting with it seems to favor thicker applications.
@lesterjennings4044 Жыл бұрын
Still trying my paint not much luck yet been fun watching you the trying to get it to work great hobby
@AncientPottery Жыл бұрын
Thanks 👍
@gail-sw9xg2 жыл бұрын
Of the objective was to get an intense black, then I guess the experiment was a mixed bag. But the bowl is beautiful and more interesting than plain black and white.
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Thank you, I agree. I will be re-firing this bowl though to see how I can improve.
@GrannyGooseOnYouTube2 жыл бұрын
This is just what I've been experimenting with. Thanks for your (usual) perfect timing!
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
You are so welcome!
@MrRugercat452 жыл бұрын
Loved the video! I’d really be interested in seeing where you got that ochre, also I would really like to see you do a video on some simple classic Basketmaker/other designs that were used on pottery and maybe other items.
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Thanks. The ochre source is shown in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnm6nJpvnKp_fc0
@QuailCanyonAnthropolgy2 жыл бұрын
I believe that you had it with the ladle project. If you have a cover sherd that will completely cover the piece being reduced and bury it with dirt or very ashy sand, and bury it deeper than a couple of inches. That should produce the reduction were all aiming for. I'm working on a project right now, and I do believe were all learning. I'm sure that the masters of Anasazi were still learning at the point of mastery. I will share my reduction firing results as soon as I could get a burn permit. I'm slipping with a matte white texture instead of a shiny burnish, because I had luck getting the hematite/clay paint to become permanent on a bowl with no burnish. Haven't tried the reduction at all yet, but I am coming into it with a lot of great info thanks to your videos. Thank you Andy!
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Mark, I look forward to hearing how your firing goes.
@fancycrafts77742 жыл бұрын
Reboot caught me off guard man.
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
LOL, I used to love that show long ago.
@Ebutuoy3332 жыл бұрын
Very interesting to hear your explanations and see your results. Another good video.
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@6bonjour2 жыл бұрын
Great video and lots of good comments. The white slip was wonderful. It looked like you took your time covering the pot with sand. Would doing it more quickly make a difference? Looking forward to the next step.
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
That is possible. But, in my experience, pots sitting among hot coals will still not oxidize until those coals start burning out, so I would be surprised if it happened while the pot was sitting right on top of all those hot coals. Thanks Wes.
@fraserbuilds2 жыл бұрын
great video! i found this really helpful as ive been readying to do a similar reduced iron firing soon and have never tried it before. ive been studying a greek method however, and from my research 1 important thing for their 3 stage firing process was the flux used in the slip. the time period ive been looking at reproducing didnt create glazed pottery, but did achieve a partial vitrification of hematite slip by incorporating soda ash or potash similar to what would be done in a glaze. from what ive read that partial vitrification helped seal the black iron from oxygen, preventing it from reverting to hematite even when the pot was re-fired
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
That's helpful information, thanks. Any idea what temperatures they were reaching to vitrify that hematite slip?
@coopart12 жыл бұрын
I too have been working on this. With some success but inconsistent . I hope to narrow in soon and share with everyone my findings !
@coopart12 жыл бұрын
@@AncientPottery they suspect 1700 Fahrenheit with a kiln updraft setup
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
@@coopart1 hmm, I easily reached 1700 F in this firing. Perhaps I just didn’t hold it long enough.
@coopart12 жыл бұрын
@@AncientPottery could be Andy. I think we are all missing either a process or a known mineral throughout the southwest . I have hit the nail on the head and then next fire something goes different. I’m testing some new material from the silver city and mimbres river area this weekend so wish me luck !
@jakattah2 жыл бұрын
Andy I saw a video a while back which has since been removed, patent issue perhaps. The guy levigated clay dried it out too make a superconductor (like a battery). The recipe went like 20% clay to 80% activated carbon. It was fired in a kiln from memory to 800C and it formed a hard black ceramic tile. I am wondering if you could powder some charcoal and add it to the iron oxide. It might be something worth experimenting with and charcoal would definitely fall into primitive material that were available. It could be tested on its own as well. Anyway you'd have a better idea if you go down that road.
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
that sounds interesting, too bad the video was removed, I would like to learn more about that.
@jakattah2 жыл бұрын
@@AncientPottery I noticed this today and it was clay that had charcoal in it. The guy is a wheel potter but you can skip to 10 minutes and see before and after. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4Lci6yJq6mbkJY
@MakeItPrimitive2 жыл бұрын
Hi Andy, I haven't tried this myself, but a Danish potter once told me that the blackware that they made in Jutland in the 19th century was fired for a very long time, something like 16 hours if I remember correctly. (The goal was to make it look like iron cookware, which had become fashionable, but was more expensive.) So but the firing time could be a factor as well, maybe by getting the iron particles into a form that won't oxidize as easily?
@coopart12 жыл бұрын
This is interesting, I too have been spending a whole lot of time trying to solve this matter. One thing I have discovered is re firing a piece over and over does eventually lead to a dark blackish brown.
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for that. I do wonder if time might be a factor, although I doubt it was anywhere near 16 hours in an open fire, that would use a truckload of wood.
@petrapetrakoliou89792 жыл бұрын
Hi Andy! Great experiment! Sand is not the issue: I fired pots really black covered in sand on a beach. I think you covered the fire too late: the combustion is not agressive enough to take out oxygen from the pot (or its clay paint), to get it wholly reduced. I covered the fire when it was the strongest and kept covering up the small holes that appeared, took out the pots after one and a half hour, I could nearly touch them with my hand (didn't have a thermometer). Although I didn't have any white paint on my pots, so I don't know if that would come out good in my way. Balint
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the feedback. If you were making all black pots then your fire was more smudging that reducing. There is a difference check out this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpSad5VomtWenpo
@petrapetrakoliou89792 жыл бұрын
There are a few spots where they are slightly red coloured, I guess close to the chimneys and around the spalling on the small jug, from where it may have got more oxygen during the explosion perhaps from the pot itself. I don't want to break them as these are my first pots ever made! I'll be trying the same method with white clay without iron in it, just to check if this is smudging or reducing. I just have to finish painting the pot with red clay. In the sherds I study from Greek Macedonia the dark colour penetrates into the thickness of the walls, but not entirely, so that must be the effects of reducing. But there are no painted designs on those sherds to make a difference. In archaic and classical Greece they used reducing and oxydising to get black figures or backgrounds on red but then they were using kilns too with higher temperatures (and wheels), I wonder if that will turn out to be the issue.
@dbsartworks4182 жыл бұрын
I wonder if after you place the sand on, if you placed more of a damp mud on top if that would make it reduce better
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I think you are right, that sand was just too porous.
@tazounettedu692 жыл бұрын
I like it !
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Thanks
@Pipsqwak2 жыл бұрын
What if you left the burning wood and coals in place and bury the whole thing with deeper sand or ashes from old fires? Also, leave the pot covered up overnight until it's completely cool so it doesn't re-oxidize? I'm no expert, but I've seen that kind of reduction work in simple pit fires.
@Pipsqwak2 жыл бұрын
Sorry, commented before watching the end of the video. Burying it with dirt or ash or something denser than sand would probably work better, and leaving it buried for a few hours or until the pot is cooler would probably work rather than overnight, unless you want to camp out. I don't know if burying it with the coals and burning wood in place would help keep the temp high for longer, but I assume it would.
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Yep, my thoughts exactly. I'll be trying this again soon.
@EXARCWithGrandpop2 жыл бұрын
I would love to try some colors. I have my red Iron-oxide now. I am still waiting for the white clay I ordered. (I am sure you have it in the mail.) Also, I am having trouble getting my pots ring like yours. I believe I am up to temp when firing. Would cracking in some parts keep the solid parts from ringing? Like you, I am still learning. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Finally, You just brushed on the white slip, right? No polishing?
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
I think you are confusing this with the Salado Polychrome pottery. Salado uses the special white slip I am selling on my website and organic paint, it is fired at a very low temperature. This is mineral paint that is fired at a very high temperature, if you use my clay at this temp the results may not be so good and organic paint will not work at these temps. The slip used in this video was brushed on and polished, the special white slip used on Salado Polychrome is brushed on and not polished. Sorry if I am confusing anyone, I am trying to understand several different types of prehistoric pottery and some of these types are made very differently.
@rommelfcc6 ай бұрын
Can you make a black ceramic paint with clay and charcoal or graphite and a little water? It dosen't burn off until about 750C? And internet thinks carcole burns off at 1100C, so maybe can move some nice blacks with those maybe?
@stephenwalford7742 жыл бұрын
hi Andy..what was the white slip you used.? .Most of my clay is red so need a good covering .. good experiment
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
It is a white clay I collect here in Arizona. White clay is much more rare than red or brown but I'll bet you can find some where you live.
@stephenwalford7742 жыл бұрын
@@AncientPottery Thanks for the quick reply Andy.. I've got some of the Clay mine white.. Wes sent me a few samples over.. Got a small bowl to try reduced iron design on. 2/3 iron, 1/3 fine red clay.. Let's see!
@mihailvormittag6211 Жыл бұрын
👍
@davar65352 жыл бұрын
I have a question about fire clouds. I noticed if I reheat fired items up to some degree fire clouds would vanish. Have you ever tried using kitchen oven for removing fire clouds?
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Interesting. No I haven't, I generally like fire clouds so wouldn't want them removed. What temperature?
@BaconIover692 жыл бұрын
I found a bucket of black iron oxide in my basement. Did I get lucky? Is it going to get brown too? What can I do with it?
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Not sure. I have limited experience with commercial products and I'm not sure how you could have a black iron oxide because I thought that iron always oxidizes to red orange or yellow. Give it a try and see what it does.
@BaconIover692 жыл бұрын
@@AncientPottery it's a kind of magnetite ( yes it is slightly magnetic, I have been told) and it's occuring naturally and can be synthesized. It's when you heat up red iron oxide in an reduced atmosphere. So what you did. I was researching since I left that comment. Thank you for your videos, I learned a lot.
@johnyz656 Жыл бұрын
Have you tried bone ash? Beautiful work!
@AncientPottery Жыл бұрын
Thank you. What would I use bone ash for? Pigment, temper, something else?
@HistoricalGeology56 Жыл бұрын
Does the pottery have to ring in order to know if it’s fired properly, mine won’t ring but it’s extremely hard and when I take my nail and scratch it the noise is very glassy
@AncientPottery Жыл бұрын
That's what I do, maybe not though. Try putting water in it, that is the ultimate test, if the pot falls apart when it gets wet then you didn't get hot enough.
@gerardahern21532 жыл бұрын
What is the organic binder made of?
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Mesquite sap
@opusydaisy6563 Жыл бұрын
Just a thought, what about putting the shards then dirt then fire it, allow complete cool down?
@AncientPottery Жыл бұрын
You would have trouble getting the heat to penetrate the dirt.
@lesterjennings4044 Жыл бұрын
What kind of paint brush did the people you study use ?
@AncientPottery Жыл бұрын
Yucca leaf
@CeeJayKay Жыл бұрын
I have to ask... what is the name of the beautiful music in the background?
@AncientPottery Жыл бұрын
Sorry, I have no idea. This video was made so long ago, I can barely remember what I ate yesterday
@gerihuginn2 жыл бұрын
Maybe smother it in clay instead of sand
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Yes, I think you might be right, something much more impermeable than sand. Lesson learned.
@gerihuginn2 жыл бұрын
@@AncientPottery These guys were using powdered horse manure kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2jFipSsm6ebers
@alyxlessthan32 жыл бұрын
Hi Andy, we love your videos. We've learnt so much. Thank You. I was recently watching a Tony Soares video where He snuffed out the fire by putting a metal drum over the fire. @ 10:45 here kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5nUfn2KiMuSaNE I know he's doing a different firing than you are and I figure that the ancient peoples probably didn't have metal drums but... Maybe if you had a really large clay vessel large enough to cover the fire. It could work well to replace the metal drum?
@alyxlessthan32 жыл бұрын
Although I can see that being a bit cumbersome to work with in hindsight
@AncientPottery2 жыл бұрын
Yes, a metal tub would work well to smother the fire, but I am trying to figure out how it was done in prehistoric times. So I am sure they were using earth to cover the fire as it is the only thing they had that would have been able to cover all the potteries in a fire.