Buying in Bulk

lbs	price	boxes	savings
500	144.6	10	12.85
1000	272.5	20	16.7
2000	497.2	40	47.8
4000	914	80	80.4

Cost savings in buying in bulk. This is a calculation for clay at a local supplier, Continental Clay. The more you buy, the better the savings. Of course, storing it may be the limiting factor.

I'd like to dig my own clay someday, plenty of areas to scope out along the Minnesota River and also near Red Wing, a famous pottery in Southeastern Minnesota about 30 minutes from my studio. Several 5 gallon buckets and a shovel should do the job, especially since the ground isn't frozen now. Something to consider. Richard Bresnahan came across quite a find several years ago, http://www.csbsju.edu/pottery/happenings/video.htm. This is in Collegeville, MN near St. Cloud, about 2 hours away from Saint Paul.

All this would require testing though. Firing temperature for vitrification, how the glaze interacts with the clay body, reformulation of slips maybe, the list goes on. But an endless supply of useable clay would be a treat.