What is the Difference Between Earthenware and Stoneware in Pottery

[@farahkavakl311]

Thanks for your environmentally conscious efforts🎉

[@AmaiaAgard-h2b]

I was looking for this video 12 months ago, just realized this was only posted 9 months ago 😅. I don't have any way of heating my sculptures as yet but after watching many videos I plan to do a pit fire kiln set up. I have yellowish white minerals that are mixed with rocks that contain iron oxide so it turned a bright orange when mixed together and is pure clay. Not elastic at all but can be molded with pressure and dries a beautiful light orange. I also have a secondary clay directly from my garden soil (clay soil gardening is not easy 😢) and it dries a light brownish cream, it's so easy to mold and not so elastic. I normally mix them to stretch my garden clay as the first clay is in excess 1 foot deep in the Hill near my house!! How can I tell the difference between the two? I don't plan on firing for awhile now, should I do tests, can I get a pit fire hot enough?

[@maxspruit8370]

Great name. Super clear in practical manner. But i don't think that there is such a thing as a "clay molecule" that is the clay. Because its a mixture of chemically different particles. The way i believe it to be is that the alumina remains firm and keeps the pottery shape while the silica melts and "glues" the alumina latice together. The feldspar aluminasilicate is the flux. This improves adhesion between alumina and the melting silica. Are my believes correct? Yours.

[@zenri5363]

Beautiful clarification, thank you!

[@annaking28]

This is so useful! I'm a very new potter and have some white stoneware clay which I've made some mugs/bowls out of, yet to be bisque fired... As part of a bundle with my wheel and electric kiln I was given a selection of Mayco Stroke & Coat glazes which state they should be fired at cone 06. I gather this is much lower than a stoneware glaze firing should be - can I use these glazes on my stoneware clay and what temperature/kiln schedule should I use if so? I'm keen for it all to definitely be food safe and the colours to come out nice and strong! If I can't use them I'll set the glazes aside for the future when I want to experiment with a lower-fire clay, and use an appropriate stoneware glaze instead, but would love to use the colours if possible.

[@melindaforster1240]

I believe you can use them at higher temperatures but I think they become more glossy