Memory

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How do I combat shrinkage?

Memory

Another property of clay closely related to shrinkage is memory. Imagine rolling a slab and cutting a strip which we bend into a circle. If we let the strip dry we'll find that the circle opens up as the strip tries to straighten itself out. We say that the clay has memory of when it was a straight piece of slab. When we roll the slab we align and compress the platelets in the clay.
Then when we bend the strip we squeeze the particles on the inside of the circle together and make space between the particles on the outside. As the water leaves the clay, the particles can move, and they arrange themselves to eliminate the stress. This straightens the strip a bit. We most often have trouble with memory when we put a handle on a pot. The handle wants to straighten out; so if we don't attach it really well and dry it slowly, it may pull itself off the pot.

   

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