Testing, testing: Mixing of clay and natural materials

 

I have conducted initial experiments with animal excrement and clay. I call these works "droppings ceramics" because the forest in my living environment in Taivassalo offers ample opportunities to collect deer and rabbit droppings from the forests. The droppings of herbivorous animals consist of plant fibers, so mixing them with clay resembles straw-clay construction. And the mixing of straw and clay is an old invention, the huge Zikkurath in Ur was built by using unfired straw-clay bricks around 2000 BCE.

Below are pictures of my initial experiments with dropping ceramics. In these, the dropping material and clay have not yet been combined into a uniform dough, but the droppings have been left relatively whole. By thinning the clay wall, it might be possible to achieve a fragile structure resembling paper clay. This work requires a lot of experimentation and research.

Droppings ceramics bowl, unfired

Bowl after first firing

deer droppings