Careful Clay Drying

I'm not sure about the weather in your area, but in my part of the world, I have to keep freshly thrown items covered somehow to keep them from drying too fast and cracking. To do this I usually use 1, 2, or 3 mil plastic sheets to cover the pieces setting on a table. To speed drying a little I will cut small holes in the plastic. For even faster drying I can cover the pieces with just a sheet of fabric or large towel. This seems to let more air in to dry the piece but not so much that one section dries much faster than another creating problems.

Finally if I have more pieces that my table with hold (like nine shard art platters) or need by table to make something else (like rolling out slabs) I use a quick damp box. I cover a gorilla shelf with plastic and then place the pieces inside. This seems to trap enough moisture to dry the pieces slowly. Any type of open shelf could be used, but I like the gorilla shelves because they are nice and study to store other pottery supplies.

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Gary R. Ferguson - Raku Artist