Making a Clay Wax Seal
Processing Clay From the Earth
If you’re wondering where to find some clay, you should search where water meets land. Such was the case when I cultivated the clay for this experiment from [Undisclosed Location].
Once I was rather certain of what I’d found, I collected a small sample and made several cubes of varying size. Once dry, the cubes were hard and stable. I knew that the clay would hold its shape and wouldn’t crumble.
Though the clay was readily pliable, it still contained plenty of sediment (sand) that I had to process out before I could sculpt anything reliable.
If you’ve found some clay of your own, follow these steps to process it before sculpting.
how to process raw clay:
Using your hands, break your earth into small pieces. Collect the pieces in a bucket.
Add water to your bucket until the waterline rests at the top of your sample.
Let the earth soak for several hours. This will hydrate the clay, allowing for easier separation.
Using your hands, break up the hydrated clay as small as possible. The goal is to create a liquid solution of clay and water. You may need to add more water during this stage. Be careful not to add too much water, as this will prolong the process.
Pour the solution through a cheese-cloth to strain out any sediment that did not dissolve in the water.
Pour the strained solution into a container lined with a towel. Gradually, the towel will wick water from the solution to the outer parts of the towel. This water will evaporate, allowing more liquid will be pulled-out. This stage requires patience. It may take several days. The drier the environment, the better.
Once the liquid has all been wicked away, transfer the goopy remains back to a cheesecloth or old t-shirt and tie it up tight for the final drying.
Check the clay each day until it has firmed up and is no longer soupy.
Remove the clay from the cloth and knead it by hand for a few minutes to remove any air bubbles and form a consistent mass.
Congratulations. Your clay can be stored in an airtight bag indefinitely.
Wax Seals
The use of wax seals for authenticating documents dates back to the Middle Ages. In a time when literacy was not the norm amongst common people, a fancy, royal-looking crest printed in wax roughly translated to “legit”.
In a modern world saturated with copycats, fakes, and AI-generated fugazi phonies, sometimes we must call upon primitive technology to protect our authenticity.
Enjoy this video featuring the making of Bounty Archive’s unmistakably-legit clay wax seal stamp.