Wild Clay // California
This is a working log that will be updated as samples are collected, processed, and tested.
collected near mile marker 2
Oat Hill Mine Rd Kaolin — Calistoga, CA (38.60226, -122.56324)
date collected: 3/4/26, 3/11/26
slaked and sieved through fine mesh
^10 soda fired
(original coordinates from HP Bloomer’s 2017 blog)
located near mile marker 3.6 in a drainage ditch, adjacent to a cliff with large obsidian rocks and brown/white soil
very plastic, a little sandy. lots of obsidian inclusions and other aggregates and organic material. really easy to work with when sieved.
starts to melt at ^6, glassy purple-y black puddle at ^11+
stable when mixed 1:1 with highfire white stonewares. shiny dark brown :)
Bottlerock Road Ditch — Kelseyville, CA (38.89873, -122.79112)
date collected: 10/28/2025
greenware (unprocessed)
^08 electric
^6 oxidation
^10 soda-fired
^12 wood-fired
CMAEP Upper Road— Loch Lomond, CA (38.86399, -122.72843)
date collected: 04/02/2025
greenware (unprocessed)
^11 wood-fired
CA-20 — Fort Bragg, CA (39.36467, -123.67160)
date collected: 04/11/2025
found along an exposed dirt cliff along the highway in a redwood forest
beautiful bright orange color
sandy, plastic
seems to vitrify around ^10/11
greenware (sieved)
^08
^6 oxidation
raw, ^10 reduction
^11 soda-fired in reduction
Adam Springs Bluff — Middletown, CA — (38.85802, -122.71974)
date collected: 11/4/2025
(original coordinates from HP Bloomer’s 2017 blog)
very sandy with layers of various sizes and colored sediment
starts to melt at ^10, more testing needed
raw/unprocessed
^12 wood
^12 wood
^10 soda
^6 oxidation
Yellow/Green/Red Soil — Kelseyville, CA — (38.858682, -122.75395)
date collected: 11/4/2025
layers of yellow, green, and red soil along Sulphur Creek Rd. testing as potential raw materials/yellow ocre/copper source
yellow soil, raw
yellow soil, ^6
green soil, raw
green soil, ^6
Marshlands Rd Salt Ponds — Fremont, CA (37.52130, -122.10266)
date collected: 12/4/2025
very fine particle-d, super sticky, salty mud in Don Edwards San Fransisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
salt evaporation ponds
definitely tons of organic material and waste contaminants from the bay and salt industry
raw unprocessed
^06
^10
CMAEP Upper Road (2) — Loch Lomond, CA — (38.86309, -122.72744)
date collected: 11/8/2025
CMAEP Southside/Overlook — Loch Lomond, CA — (38.85987, -122.72774)
date collected: 11/08/2025
