Native Clay Work

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Does it sound like fun to you to collect natural clay, properly prepare it, then fashion it into objects that you fire outdoors?

It’s really a very rewarding endeavor – one that Native Peoples have historically considered a spiritual experience (it is, after all, a labor of love).  It’s a wonderful group activity, too – the hunt for the natural clay, or the experimenting with different types of mud, can be quite the group adventure!

You can hunt for natural clay in your area any time of the year, but the firing is best done during the summer months when the ground and fuel are both good and dry.

make clay pot, native american pottery, american indian pottery

Amerindian-style natural clay pot making is an art form that was almost lost to humanity due to the internment and forced assimilation of our aboriginals.  While many tribes across America today claim skilled pottery artisans who use modern clays and firing methods, only a handful of modern Natives are keepers of the original technologies.

One such keeper is Tony Soares of Joshua Tree, California.  Tony is of Choctaw and Seminole descent, but he has dedicated his life to re-discovering the old-world technologies of the desert southwest peoples.  Tony has served us all by documenting his journey and practical discoveries in a video titled, Native Clays.  The following Youtube clip is an excerpt from Tony’s video.

At LPH we searched high and low for quality information on natural clay pot making for our Thanksgiving guide published in 2009 (listed below).  While we found and utilized beginning instructions provided in various books and online, we unfortunately didn’t discover Tony until after we went to print.  Tony’s instruction delves deeper into preparing soils to be used as clay, plus it covers natural pottery painting.

If you truly desire authentic results, you can’t make a better investment than Tony’s instructional video.  To purchase Native Clays on DVD contact artist Tony Soares through his MySpace.com/NativeClays profile, or write for information at: Native Clays [ @ ] yahoo . com (remove spaces and brackets).

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Other Resources:

LPH book: The American Patriot’s Treasury of Historical Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas. This book provides basic instructions for natural clay gathering, and outdoor firing.  It also provides instructions for using food-safe modern clays, and gives contact information for suppliers.  Available in print through Lulu.com/TeachFromTheHeart, or in digital format through the LPH Store.