Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Let’s get two things out of the way, first, here’s my wadding recipe:
50% coarse alumina hydrate, (you can use fine but the wadding ends up denser and potentially harder to remove and 50% kaolin, (I use EPK). The raw materials are added to a bucket and I drape a wet towel over it, then I stick an arm through and blend the powders, (the damp towel/cloth stops the dust from escaping). Once mixed I add water SLOWLY, as this combination tends to turn from quite a sturdy, clay-like consistency to a runny mess in moments, so don’t slosh in lots of water thinking it’ll be fine, do it gradually.
I then wedge it up like normal and store it in an airtight bucket.
The second thing is yes, I know I could use my potter’s wheel for grinding the lid. The thing is, the applied force isn’t just pushing the two together directly, instead as I grind, I twist in a few different orientations, sometimes polishing away at the horizontal flange of the lid itself if I feel it’s scratchy. This is hard to explain… but I’m not just pressing one against the other, there’s more nuance to it than that, despite it not appearing obviously so.
This all leads to a considerable amount of clean-up on the finished pieces yet it’s NOTHING compared to years apprenticing with Lisa Hammond, I can’t even begin to describe some of the horrific wadding removal processes, the white lumps trapped within layers of glaze and molten clay. I’d sit for hours with a Dremel delicate grinding away at the bases of pots—a task that has to be done without a single mistake, as the last thing you want to do is scratch glaze that doesn’t need it.
#satisfying #asmr #pottery #handmade #jar #crafts #qualitycontrol
Let’s get two things out of the way, first, here’s my wadding recipe:
50% coarse alumina hydrate, (you can use fine but the wadding ends up denser and potentially harder to remove and 50% kaolin, (I use EPK). The raw materials are added to a bucket and I drape a wet towel over it, then I stick an arm through and blend the powders, (the damp towel/cloth stops the dust from escaping). Once mixed I add water SLOWLY, as this combination tends to turn from quite a sturdy, clay-like consistency to a runny mess in moments, so don’t slosh in lots of water thinking it’ll be fine, do it gradually.
I then wedge it up like normal and store it in an airtight bucket.
The second thing is yes, I know I could use my potter’s wheel for grinding the lid. The thing is, the applied force isn’t just pushing the two together directly, instead as I grind, I twist in a few different orientations, sometimes polishing away at the horizontal flange of the lid itself if I feel it’s scratchy. This is hard to explain… but I’m not just pressing one against the other, there’s more nuance to it than that, despite it not appearing obviously so.
This all leads to a considerable amount of clean-up on the finished pieces yet it’s NOTHING compared to years apprenticing with Lisa Hammond, I can’t even begin to describe some of the horrific wadding removal processes, the white lumps trapped within layers of glaze and molten clay. I’d sit for hours with a Dremel delicate grinding away at the bases of pots—a task that has to be done without a single mistake, as the last thing you want to do is scratch glaze that doesn’t need it.
#satisfying #asmr #pottery #handmade #jar #crafts #qualitycontrol
