Making Pottery WITHOUT a Sink

[@jojohare425]

I have been operating my studio without running water for 5 years and I recycle my water in a similar way. It works and I don’t think I’m disadvantaged. 😊

[@herpsandderps8967]

I just have one bucket per color of clay. I skim clean water off the top to throw with and pull out slop from the bottom onto reclaim bats. I throw all my scraps in once they are bone dry they slake down super easy. If there is no clean water on top, I'll full my throwing container and just dump that into the bucket at the end of the day. Water leaves the system through the plaster bats, so it does need to be replenished. No big deal, though.

[@LaLaArtStudio]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills with us... I am a brand new 'newbie' to all things clay and learning all I can from the people who are sharing, like you 🤠. This information on the water 💦 and the process flow is a great deal of information and I really appreciate you for it!

[@firedfigments]

I'm so glad it was helpful - best of luck on your clay ventures!

[@MoFoley88]

This is great, thank you. I want to do ceramics in my garage when I don’t have access to the studio where I take classes. Super helpful!!

[@jessicasantilli8306]

Yay sustainability! This video is very insightful.

[@christineanderson1329]

Thank you. This was very helpful as I am going to start teaching K-12 ceramics at a place where there is only hose water to work with.😀

[@firedfigments]

@@christineanderson1329 I'm so glad it helped! I hope it all goes well for you!

[@patrickbass3542]

IF you have a sink and drain insert a section of "tail-piece" into the sink drain. This will hold 2" or 3" (you decide) of water with clay particles in the sink (to be cleaned-out later, while clear water flows over the top of the tail-piece and down the drain. I've been demonstrating this to other potters for years!!!!

[@firedfigments]

That's what we used in college, but I never liked that so much water was going down the drain in a day, when it could be saved and re-used. Plus, with people washing their hands in the sink, soap, glazes, and other particles all got mixed in with the clay so it always got trashed instead of reclaimed. I definitely understand the ease-of-use for a community studio, but I love getting to make sure all my water and clay get used to their full potential since the bucket system is so easy for an individual to maintain.

[@726marsey]

I think this is better than a gravity filter only because it seems to be a better method to avoid mold

[@firedfigments]

I haven't used a gravity filter, but I will say the only buckets that sometimes develop mold are my hand-washing bucket since it's getting more skin cells in it, and the mopping bucket. I don't circulate the mop water back into my system, but I decide what to do with the settled hand clay on a case by case basis.

[@726marsey]

@Fired Figments I understand what you're saying. I saw another method on here of a large box with dividers. I like it but it seems like a more daunting task cleaning it since the water sections have deep cavities to maintain

[@knotbox]

This is a great video ❤

[@firedfigments]

Thank you!

[@orenjaffe599]

This is awesome, thank you so much for sharing your system! Do you have problems with bacteria stinking up your buckets and if so, do you have some strategies (besides just becoming one with the little guys) to deal with them? Our community studio always has foul aromas emanating from our sink buckets, haha. Thanks again!

[@firedfigments]

I don't deal with bad smells too much - probably since I'm just one person so the water doesn't get as much use as a group studio. The only bucket that starts to smell sometimes is my hand wash bucket if I go too long without pouring off the clean water to clean out the bottom. So, my best advice is just to change the water out more frequently, unfortunately.

[@herpsandderps8967]

Adding vinegar can help with bacteria

[@jimvanbaalen3708]

I like this strategy, but what do you do about wet clay buckets smelling like a swamp after they sit for a while?

[@firedfigments]

I've found that as a single-person studio my buckets don't get enough action to frequently smell. I process my reclaim usually a day or two after it goes in the bucket so it doesn't sit around long. The only bucket that occasionally smells is my handwash bucket since it gets the most skin cells and such, but I've found that keeping the bucket open instead of lidded, and pouring off the clean water from the settled material on a monthly basis keeps most of the smell away. A spritz of vinegar every so often also helps to prevent mold build up. Hope that helps!

[@jimvanbaalen3708]

Thanks!