Natural clay. Not sure what brand but the type was called Orangestone.

The clay I like to use is called Orangestone. It is a high-fire stoneware clay (fires at temps 2200°F+). It's one of the strongest clays at my campus bookstore due to it's high grain content. But even with that clay I still run into problems with cracking. It doesn't really matter what clay you use (unless it's a really low-quality clay).

Cracking comes from many different things like the clay drying too fast, the clay being too thin, over working the clay, not scoring and slipping real well, etc. Clay has the tendency to shrink when it's fired which also causes cracks to form. I think every one of my pieces have had some cracks in it somewhere, mostly on the inside where I had hollowed them out. It's pretty much inevitable but there are some things you can do to prevent major problems.

1. If you have a large piece, allow it to dry evenly by loosely covering it with a plastic bag. Then every day or so flip the bag inside out. You don't want pieces of your sculpture/pottery to dry out before others. That's why it's good to let them dry slowly. It takes my bigger pieces about a week to completely dry. Smaller pieces (like my tiles for example) can be left out in the open and are usually dry in a day or two.

2. Make sure your piece is structurally sound. It's a good idea to have the clay thicker at the bottom for structural support. Also think about where and how certain parts are connected. If your connections are too thin or unsupported, there's a good chance they will crack and break off during the drying process or during firing.

3. When you connect two pieces of clay make sure you score and slip both sides of the connections real well. I just use a comb dipped in water and scratch the surface until it's real wet and mushy. That way the clay will have something to hold on to while it dries. If you don't then that connection will be very weak and may crack.

I'm sure there's some other things I missed but those are the three important things I've learned. I could also explain better if I could actually demonstrate what I'm talking about.

When I made the hair I made it too thick. Anything over a half-inch has the tendency to explode or crack when it's fired. Usually to remedy this you hollow out whatever's too thick, but I couldn't do that in this case. So what I had to do is take a needle tool and poke a bunch of holes in the hair and then smooth them out to hide them. That lets air circulate in the clay and will allow the it to bake evenly. I did the same thing with the clouds in my piece Of Loyalty.

Tips for aspiring artists? Never give up, never doubt yourself, never rush (art takes time), and most importantly have fun!

Thanks!