How to Make Marbled Clay

How to make marbled clay. Learn how to marble clay in this tutorial. Marbleized clay can make any project extraordinary. You can mix / marble clay by wedging it, folding it or stacking it. Make sure each clay has the same firing temperature. Enjoy!

[@rokkogutierrez2141]

nice video!!! do you know how to put color to a regular clay to make that effect ??

[@CeramicJim]

Thanks! Yes! You can use what are called "Mason Stains", they are colored powders made by ceramic companies. They come in most any color. They are expensive though. You can get some Red Iron Oxide for pretty cheap and wedge/fold that into a white/gray clay. That will turn a clay brown, darker or lighter if you use more or less.

[@CeramicJim]

I’ll be making some more marbling and colored clay videos in the future so stay tuned Rokko Gutierrez!

[@cindybrandt]

kudos. you not only have great videos, you answer viewers questions. I’ll never understand why some people put out a video with no information about what they did or used and then get questions which sit unanswered for years. I’m familiar with a lot of your techniques from polymer clay, but you do terrific videos which are quick, informative and interesting, and you answer questions too. I really appreciate the videos which give the percentage of mason stains to add to clay and show the results when glazed. Thanks.

[@CeramicJim]

Thank you Cindy. As a teacher I can't help myself sometimes. My goal is to educate as I make. I've realized that there is quite a bit of overlap between polymer clay and colored clay techniques. Thank you for the comment Cindy! It's always nice to hear from viewers.

[@MrMeeseeksLookAtMe]

great video, both information wise and production wise!

[@deexbee]

I literally love the intro!

[@CeramicJim]

Thanks!

[@jessicafrisco1958]

Very nice video tutorial. Thanks!

[@CeramicJim]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@jtcpottery]

I have to try this! Today! Thanks for the tutorial! Very clear!

[@CeramicJim]

Be careful. It’s addicting 😄

[@jtcpottery]

@@CeramicJim LOL!!! Don't I know!!! Thanks! Did it today and had a blast!!

[@janicedavy3193]

Good job and well done. Thanks for sharing your video.

[@CeramicJim]

Thank you Janice!

[@bt42_howitzer]

Cool!

[@CeramicJim]

Thanks!

[@almaorias9297]

just wow... nice techniques ...

[@CeramicJim]

Thanks. This is still one of my favorite videos that I’ve made.

[@user-pd7qz6ik8z]

شكرا على فكرة جميلة

[@cookingandart648]

Thank you for the video. Very nice 👌 stay connected

[@CeramicJim]

Thank you for the kind words. Will do!

[@luyaowang4317]

Great showcase! I was wondering if this works with air dry clay too since I’m pretty desperate as it is apart of my school project

[@CeramicJim]

I imagine it would. Might test it in small batches first. It can be expensive though.

[@BEAMNGSurvival]

nice!

[@CeramicJim]

Thanks!

[@andyrosen5914]

Hi Jim, Thanks for posting this tutorial. Sort of off topic question but, could you tell me about the table you use? Is it just pine boards or is it covered with something to prevent the board seams from translating into your clay?

[@CeramicJim]

Thanks for the question Andy. I took a look yesterday as I didn’t build it myself. It’s the table in the studio where I work. It had a wood board frame and bottom but then there are layers of Masonite stacked and bolted together so it’s a completely smooth surface. It’s wrapped in canvas and then has that thick layer of canvas over the top.

[@hanumansnarf]

Thanks for the video! Do you know if it is ok to use two different clays if their shrinkage rates are a lil bit different?

[@CeramicJim]

If it were me. I’d try it and see. If they are close, it may not be a problem. You might get excessive warping or fracking. But obviously you seem to know that different shrink rates are not good. Try it. Although if your going to do marbled clay more often or for work your going to sell, you might want to get two clays that have the same shrink rate.

[@samtomasello6913]

Hi Jim, do you think I could do this with polymer clay? Of course, it would be much smaller than the piece you are working with here! Very nice marbling/wood grain!

[@CeramicJim]

It certainly would. Some of the things I learned about clay patterns I've learned from polymer clay experiments. Thanks Sam!

[@dlbstl]

Is there anywhere that we can look at your finished pieces? I have watched several of your videos, and I never see the finished piece. It would be great to just get a chance to see it after it's been fired. Thanks.

[@CeramicJim]

I have a couple kiln unloading videos. Number 2 has more of the finished work you’d be interested in. My Instagram, currently ceramicjim has more photos of work and some finished pieces. I have a kiln unloading coming out soon.

[@zackaryog]

yes please

[@CeramicJim]

Great Lakes Clay Elgin, IL. It's their Ontario White 5 and I honestly don't know if they make their terracotta anymore. Hope this helps!

[@syedatubawaqar5306]

I have stoneware of 1075C temperature and terracotta of 950C temperature. Can they be marbeled???

[@francesminten4798]

so after you've made this block, what do you do to make slabs to hand build pots? talking simple pots. just cut layers with a wire? wouldn't rolling out ruin the marbling?

[@CeramicJim]

Slabs and hand building is best. You can throw with these blocks too but it will just swirl. If you roll it out between two thin sheets it keeps the marbling cleaner. I just sand any marbled piece I make or trim the entire outside. That reveals the marbling perfectly. Even if you smear it in the building process.

[@CeramicJim]

I have a video where I do it. “How to make nerikomi pottery with a plaster press mold”. That video shows one way I work with marbled slabs.

[@sofiadesignhub]

What cone would you use to fire this?

[@CeramicJim]

This is a cone 6 clay but this technique can be done with any cone clay as long as they're the same and the shrink rates are the same or very similar.

[@user-oi8pj5zs6p]

A quand la traduction française ?❤

[@zackaryog]

what clay did you use?

[@CeramicJim]

I used a porcelaneous stoneware and a terracotta. Both Cone 6. Do you want the specific vendor that I buy from?