Potter Ted Juve creates a vase from the clay found in Wallowa County. RON OSTERLOH photo

ENTERPRISE – For a prolific potter like Ted Juve of Enterprise, who

obtains clay for his trade from as far away as California, Montana and

Portland, developing a source of local clay can be handy as well as

innovative.

Juve was approached one day last summer by Jerry Hook of South Fork Ready Mix to see if he might be interested in taking a look at a six-foot layer of clay sandwiched between layers of rock at the South Fork gravel pit north of Enterprise. After examining the clay layer, Juve ordered 50 yards of it delivered to his property.

Experimentation is ongoing to test a formula of additives to give the extremely fine clay some “tooth,” Juve said.

It took time to process some of the clay to find out if it would be usable and what the best use would be. This particular clay is so fine and the particles so tightly bound that objects formed from the raw clay would not survive firing in the kiln, Juve said. In order to coarsen the clay he tried mixing some of the non-native clay he uses into the Wallowa County clay, but his results were not satisfactory, he said.

A colleague from Northern California, Doug Brow, took a sample of the native clay and has been experimenting with a mixture of additives. He has come up with a formula of Hawthorne Bond, a granular additive of pre-fired ceramic material used to control drying, firing and shrinkage, and EPK (Edgar Plastic Kaolin), which adds flexibility or plasticity to the clay. Now Juve plans to experiment with the mixture and see if it is viable or if it needs further adjustments.

Without the additives, 50 percent of the pieces were breaking in the kiln and Juve said he can’t afford to continue that. He said the clay is very pliable and great to work with. It is not, however, as durable as the clay he uses for his commercial pottery. His intention is to use it for planters or for architectural uses, like tile. The native clay fires at a lower temperature than the commercial clays, which is an advantage since it takes less energy to finish the pieces.

Bringing the native clay from the pile in his field to a finished piece of pottery is a highly labor-intensive process that begins with adding water to the bone-dry, powdery clay to make a slurry to settle out small rocks or detritus. This slurry is then dumped one wheel barrow at a time into wooden frames positioned on concrete and draped with canvas.

Over the course of 24 to 48 hours the moisture is pulled out and the clay dries.

Next the canvas is peeled away and the clay comes loose in clumps that are ready to go through the pug mill, a device used to compact moist clay into sausage-shaped forms that are convenient to store, handle and divide into usable portions. Now the clay is ready for the potter’s wheel or for hand-building.

Juve has made his living as a potter primarily in Wallowa County since 1971. He was one of a host of artisans and teachers who contributed to the Chief Joseph Summer Camp enrichment program in the 1970s and ’80s.

Juve said he is self-taught and describes himself as “the puttering potter.” Many of his potter friends have degrees in ceramics and various arts fields, he said, but he has gained his knowledge through experimentation and diligence.

The Juve home is a showcase of ceramic works that he admires. On a tour through the house he supplies names of the artist, type of clay, type of glaze, method of firing, degree of difficulty/uniqueness for every piece on every shelf; it is a lesson in tradition and innovation in the world of pottery in the Pacific Northwest.

Olaf Pottery, Juve’s trademark, is produced in a barn converted to a studio on his property on Alder Slope outside of Enterprise. In addition to the barn/studio are out-buildings housing different products he creates and markets. The studio is crowded with many types of vessels including mugs, bowls, vases, urns – all in varying stages of completion. Other projects like drawer pulls, door knobs and tiles at every level from experimentation to polished product fill the space in one of several outbuildings.

Juve said he works constantly to contribute to his inventory in order to keep his pottery and other ceramic products on the shelves where they can be sold.

He hopes to carve out some time this summer to continue experimenting with the large pile of powdery clay that was delivered by dump truck in the field next to his studio.

Juve’s pottery can be found at The Bookloft in Enterprise, ToZion and Valley Bronze Gallery in Joseph. Native clay pieces are available at Alder Slope Nursery outside of Enterprise. The Center for Arts in Pendleton and the Blue Turtle in La Grande also carry Juve’s products. Most of the outlets carry all of Juve’s pieces from native clay to his celebrated Raku.