Goerg & Schneider clay 374 grey stoneware body, 25% grog, 10 kg

Clay body 374 – hand-building clay with black grog, firing grey to black

Goerg & Schneider clay body 374 is a ready-to-use plastic stoneware clay for hand-building and modelling vessels, figures and sculptures. It contains 25% black grog with a grain size of 0 to 0.5 mm. This gives the clay stability while still letting it be shaped easily. The clay body fires grey, anthracite to black.

The fired colour depends on the temperature: at the lower end of the firing range you get lighter shades of grey, and as the temperature rises the clay body becomes darker and can look almost black at 1200 °C. The exact result also depends on the firing schedule and the kiln atmosphere. The clay is not air-drying: it only reaches its final hardness and colour when fired in a kiln.

Use and firing

Clay 374 is intended for small and medium-sized pieces that you build using coil, slab or pinch techniques or model freely. It is not intended for throwing on the potter's wheel. Allow for shrinkage when planning the size of your piece: the clay shrinks by approx. 7% as it dries, and a further 4 to 7% in the firing, depending on the temperature. At 1200 °C the clay body is at its most vitrified, with 0.7% water absorption.

• Firing range: 1000–1200 °C
• Allow to dry through completely before firing
• Fired colour from light grey to almost black, depending on the final temperature

Revealing the grog and glazing

If you gently wipe the leather-hard surface with a damp sponge, you expose some of the black grog. This creates a lively, slightly rough surface with dark particles that looks good unglazed or only partly glazed. On the dark clay body, transparent and semi-transparent glazes in particular often look darker or a different colour than on light clay. So test the glaze and surface first on a test piece at your planned firing temperature.

Which clay is right for you?

With 0–0.5 mm, clay 374 has a coarser grog and is intended mainly for hand-building. If you also want to throw on the wheel, clay 371, with a finer grain size (0–0.2 mm) and a firing range up to 1240 °C, is the better choice.

Goerg & Schneider clay body 374 product details

• Manufacturer: Goerg & Schneider, product number 374
• Type: ready-to-use plastic stoneware clay, not air-drying
• Grog content: 25% black grog
• Grain size: 0–0.5 mm
• Firing range: 1000–1200 °C
• Fired colour: grey, anthracite to black
• Drying shrinkage at 110 °C: approx. 7%
• Firing shrinkage: approx. 4% (1070 °C), approx. 6% (1140 °C), approx. 7% (1200 °C)
• Water absorption: approx. 8% (1070 °C), approx. 3% (1140 °C), approx. 0.7% (1200 °C)
• Thermal expansion coefficient (WAK): 67 (20–500 °C)
• Contents: 10 kg

You will also need: kiln for firing (up to 1200 °C), glazes of your choice