Once I have mud I take all the foreign material out of it, I strain it. I put enough water in so I have slip, which is thin mud, like cream, thick cream. Then I pour it out onto some plaster bats and let it dry, the plaster absorbs the water evenly from the slip. I may add a couple of ingredients to the clay while it is in the "slip mode". When the clay is "moist", it can be formed into different shapes. Most of the pottery that I make is made in about three different methods that are "hand made". I use the coil method, the drape mold, and the potters wheel. I have made my own original molds and poured some that way. I prefer the coil method, for seed bowls, and there is also the pinch method. For the Native American, or Mimbres pottery I use the drape mold method for the bowls, and the coil method for the small bowls and seed bowls. After making the piece I let it air dry for a week or two, depending on the weather, then I fire the stuff to cone 04, ususally.
After firing the first time I paint on the white slip that is used for the background for the various designs. The white slip is "modified" porcelain. It seems interesting to me to put the finest porcelain on the common desert clay that I have dug up someplace far out in the desert of southern California. I buy the porcelain slip allready mixed, but then I have to "modify" it by adding chemicals so it will stick to the desert clay. After the porcelain slip has dried I decide on a design and decorate the piece with underglaze that I have made. I buy the raw chemicals from a ceramics supply store. One really good underglaze is just "muddy water". At first it seemed strange to be painting on dried dirt with muddy water. I had been doing oil painting for several years and painting on a very sophisticated, prepared canvas, sometimes linen. So working with mud and muddy water was very different. After I have the piece decorated it has to dry for a few days and then I fire it again.