Black Copper Oxide, also known as Cupric Oxide (CuO), has been used by potters as a coloring oxide for a very long time. It can work as a very strong flux and give glazes a speckled color appearance. This material reacts greatly to atmospheric changes. In reduction, the material can completely change color.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer.

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Hawthorn Fireclay is a refractory, buff colored fireclay. It is a very popular material that is used in many clay recipes. Hawthorne has an incredibly high plasticity and a high temperature, vitrifying around cone 8-10 (with the small addition of a feldspar) and shrinking about 12% at cone 10.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database. 50# bag; brown bag, blue text 50 mesh Hawthorn Bond

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#6 Tile Clay is commonly used multipurpose kaolin. This material is chosen because it is relatively inexpensive option of kaolin and produces a gray white color when fired. While this kaolin is plastic, it does not have the same level of plasticity as EPK. The full bag from the manufacturer is a 50# bag; white bag, red text labeled on side.

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Red Copper Oxide is a colorant used in clay bodies and glaze recipes. It is the reduced form of Black Copper Oxide. Red Copper Oxide is maybe best known for its use in reduction atmosphere, producing beautiful reds in glazes. It can also be used in oxidation firings, where it will turn back into black copper oxide and produce very nice greens. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer.

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200 mesh Western Bentonite Available by the pound or in full bag quantities for best pricing. The full bag from the mine is a 50# bag; brown bag, blue text Volclay, Bentonite Western Bentonite (sodium bentonite) is most frequently used by potters and is the only type Bracker's carries. Southern Bentonite (calcium bentonite) is not available at Bracker's, but can be found at some metal casting foundry suppliers.  Bentonite is a very fine material that originates from the decomposition of volcanic ash. It is used in clay, slip, and glaze recipes to increase plasticity and suspend materials in slurries. It will also work as a binder and strengthen the clay body in the green and dry stages. In casting slip, bentonite is imperative to getting the slip to dry and pull away from the plaster walls of the mold without tearing.  Bentonite should be mixed with water outside of the mixture and then added in to ensure proper combination.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer.

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The full bag from the manufacturer is a 50# bag; white bag, black text Marblewhite Calcium Carbonate, commonly referred to as whiting, is a stable and insoluble material of calcium used to introduce calcia to clay bodies and glazes. This material is used by many different industries, but the calcium carbonate made for the ceramic industry will be the only one that will work properly in clay and glazes. Sometimes used in low fire clay bodies to reduced fired shrinkage and act as a whitener!  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer.

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50# bag; white bag, green text Cedar Heights Fireclay Cedar Heights Fireclay is generally used in recipes for stoneware clays. Fireclay is a type of refractory clay. Because of its high firing temperature, fireclay is typically used to make firebricks, kiln furniture, and is used in some sculpture and pottery clays. using a fireclay in a clay recipe will create plasticity and allow the clay to go to a higher temperature.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer.

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Soda Ash, also known as sodium carbonate, is a pure and calcined deflocculant. It can be used by itself or in conjunction with sodium silicate to deflocculate glaze and slips.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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Dolomite is a high temperature flux and crystallizer used in glazes. This material does not reach its full potential as a flux until 2138°F (between cone 4 and 5). In glazes with a lot of dolomite, crystalline effects will appear during cooling. 50# bag; brown bag, blue text Limestone and Specialty Minerals Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer.

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10.27.23 - Please note: we had heard reports of recent loads of EPK showing black specks in the firing. We tested the batch we received last month and found no black specks or any other contaminants. E.P.K. stands for Edgar Plastic Kaolin, and is a kaolin mined in Edgar, Florida. This material fires white and is loved for its stickiness when wet and thixotropic properties. 15-20% will make a glaze slurry gel and allow bisque ware to be dipped in the glaze. While this material is good for casting, it does not have enough plasticity to be good for throwing clay bodies on its own. In that case, more plastic kaolins or a plasticizer can be added to the body.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database. 50# bag; brown bag, black text EPK Pulverized Kaolin

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Spodumene is a natural source of lithium oxide used in bodies and glazes to introduce lithia, alumina, and silica. Lithium oxide is used because it reduces thermal expansion, melting temperature, and viscosity of the glaze melt.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer. Why did the price of Spodumene skyrocket?We don't have any information at this time except that a very large price increase was just passed along to us. We will update this page with more information as we receive it.

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Foundry Hull Creme is a fairly refractory stoneware that is very similar to ball clay but has a much lower drying shrinkage and much higher firing shrinkage. It is most commonly used in stoneware clay bodies.  50# bag; brown bag, red text HC Spinks and Foundry Hill Creme on top and bottom

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Strontium Carbonate is the slightly soluble carbonate version of Strontium Oxide. Strontium Carbonate is commonly used in glaze recipes. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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Goldart is a plastic stoneware clay that comes from Cedar Heights Clay Company in Oak Hill, Ohio. It is very popular and used in many clay body recipes. It has a wide firing range, vitrifying at cone 10 reduction.  50# bag; yellow bag, red text Cedar Heights Air Floated Clay Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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Ultrox is the brand name for zircon, an opacifier used in glaze recipes. Ultrox assures uniformity of opacity, texture and color in glazes. This material reduces the thermal expansion of glazes as well as reducing crazing.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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Grog is ground up ceramic that can be added to clay bodies to reduce shrinkage, warping, cracking, and impart visual and tactile texture. This particular grog is 10 mesh, making it a larger size of the material. Good for adding to more sculptural clay bodies. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer. 50# bag; brown bag, red text sticker on bottom 10 MCF

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Grog is ground up ceramic that can be added to clay bodies to reduce shrinkage, warping, cracking, and impart visual and tactile texture. This particular grog is 30 mesh, making it a a smaller size of the material. Good for adding to throwing clay bodies. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer. 50# bag; brown bag, red text sticker on bottom 30 MCF

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Gerstley Borate is no longer being mined, the amount that we have in stock is the last of what is avaliable to us. Gillespie Borate is the substitute for this Gerstley Borate. When we run out of Gerstley we will NO LONGER HAVE ANY TO SELL. Gerstley Borate is a natural material that is used as a melter in glazes. The material begins to melt at low temperatures, becoming a clear gloss by cone 06. Along with being an excellent melter, Gerstley is very plastic and is able to suspend glazes. Because of this, it is very common to see a glaze recipe with Gerstley Borate that has no clay content. However, the material contains little to no Alumina Oxide, which is essential in a glaze. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database .

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Grolleg is a blended English kaolin typically used for making translucent porcelain clay bodies. The material has a low shrinkage rate and fires to a blue/white color. It has moderate plasticity and a low titania and high flux content. A glaze or clay body will almost always specify Grolleg if Grolleg is necessary. If it just says china clay or kaolin, other kaolins are a more cost-effective option. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database. 55# bag; white bag, blue text Imerys Quality China Clay

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Tin Oxide is a white powder made by oxidizing high grade tin metal. In ceramics, tin oxide is typically used as an opacifier in glaze recipes to create strong white colors. It can also be used as a variegator in combination with other materials. When added to a glaze, tin oxide will cause the materials to clump together so make sure to sieve the glaze slurry. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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Helmer Kaolin is mined in Helmer, Idaho from a kaolin deposit found there. The most common use for this kaolin is for wood firing because of its amazing flashing properties. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database. 50# bag; brown bag, no text

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Minspar Feldspar is a soda feldspar that replaced NC-4 and Kona F-4. As of right now, Minspar is not available due to the mine being impacted during Hurricane Helene. 50# bag, white bag, red text "Minspar 200" and "K-T Feldspar Corp"

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Titanium Dioxide is a very fine grained powder known for its strong white pigment. It's white color is due to the fact that it crystallizes during cooling. It is not as effective of a whitener as other opacifiers. It can also be used as a variegator and or crystalizer in glaze recipes, creating interesting visual effects. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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KT 1-4 Ball clay is a coarse and fast casting ball clay. It is a specific blend of SGP1 and OM4. This ball clay is most used in artware, low fire, brightly colored pieces. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database 50# bag; brown bag, black text KT #1-4 printed on side

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Burnt Umber is the calcined, or burnt, version of umber. In as little as 600°F, umber, a yellowish light brown, can turn into Burnt Umber, a rich red brown, and gets rid of the plasticity of umber. Burnt umber is commonly used as a stain in many clay bodies, slips, engobes, and glazes. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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OM-4 Ball Clay, which stands for Old Mine #4 located in Mayfield, KY, is a very popular, fine ball clay. It has amazing plasticity and strength and is used in many clay bodies as well as glaze recipes. In glazes, it helps with suspension aid of the slurry.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database. 50# bag; brown bag, red text OM4 printed on side

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Veegum-T is a material used as in glaze recipes and clay bodies. In glazes, it is used as a suspender and thickener. In clay bodies, it is used as a plasticizer. When adding this material to a glaze slurry, it is very imporant that it is mixed with water before adding it to the rest of the materials. Improper hydration and variations in mixing conditions (water temperature, amount of water, time mixing, mixing power, etc) can produce varied results in glazes. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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Ilmenite is mined from ore of titanium and iron. Its primary uses are to yield brown specks in clay bodies and glazes, similar to rutile, and can be used in small amounts in crystalline glazes. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer.

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Black Iron Oxide, also known as Ferrous Oxide (FeO), is red iron oxide that has been fired in a reduction atmosphere. Iron oxides are the most common colorants used in the ceramics industry. Black Iron Oxide specifically can be used as an alkaline flux in clay bodies and glaze recipes. In glaze: 1% of black iron oxide will give you a pale green  3% of black iron oxide will give a greenish gray color 8% will give you a black Information gathered from The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer.

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Volcanic Ash, also known as pumice, as tiny particles of volcanic glass, mined from material that has been sent into the air by an erupting volcano and then settled on the ground in layers. This material is non-cystalline because of its fast cool when it is created. It is used for its melting properties, instead of melting it will soften over a range of temperatures. Volcanic ash has varying chemistry and make up, sometimes enough to change the way a glaze containing this material works.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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A superior plaster for casting decorative ceramicware, sanitaryware, dinnerware and fine china. Available with or without thermal shock additive. MAIN FEATURES No. 1 Pottery Plaster produces a break-resistant, smooth wearing mold designed for slip casting and jiggering applications. No. 1 Pottery Plaster: Is formulated to provide stronger, longer-lasting ceramic slip cast molds Is the industry standard for sanitaryware and dinnerware casting Has a recommended use consistency by weight of 70 parts water to 100 parts plaster Has a standard machine mix Vicat set of 14-24 minutes. NOTE — For best results, store indoors in a dry, stable environment, away from drafts. Do not stack more than two pallets high. This online plaster calculator tool will help you easily determine how much plaster you'll need for a variety of different forms as well as different types of plasters. https://plaster.glazy.org 50# bag; brown bag, black text with red fine print, "#1 PLASTER" stamped across bag as well as a batch number stamped in a separate location (example: 082615S)

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Wollastonite is a low temperature, white material with needle like crystals. These crystal reinforce mechanical strength and durability while reducing shrinkage and heat distortion.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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Ranger Red is an earthenware clay mined in Texas. It has a high iron content and can be used as a substitute for Redart. This material is gray in raw form and fires to a dark red. 50# bag; brown bag, Ranger Red printed on front

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Red Iron Oxide is possibly the most common colorant in the ceramics industry. It is used in oxidation to create lovely browns, tans, and yellows. In reduction, red iron oxide becomes a flux, making the glazes melt off the ware.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database and The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques by Frank Hamer.

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Redart is an earthenware material that fires red and is fired to low temperatures (cone 06-3). It has low plasticity and low shrinkage. In clay bodies, it needs bentonite added to impart more plasticity. This material makes a good casting slip but may also need the addition of bentonite to help it pull away from the walls of the mold without tearing.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database. 50# bag; red bag, yellow text Redart with green tree

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