Making of my Clay Water Barrels

Since I work out of buckets for the water in my ceramics studio, I needed to come up with a solution for how to not have to wait for the water to evaporate out of each bucket before I could use it again. The solution I chose was to make a version of a rain barrel so that when my studio buckets get full, the water could be added, settle, and then be used to water trees. Below is my process for making these barrels:

Step One: Testing in my Studio

My original process for clearing water from my studio was to pour the leftover water in a bucket, wait for the water to evaporate out, and then scoop the clay/glaze sediment into the the trash. At first this was perfect, but once I decided to build my business into a functional part of my life, I quickly needed another option. So I started paying attention to how quickly the sediment would clear from the main section of water and found that the water barrel idea would work!

Step Two: Building the Barrels

I found a style of barrel that was tough enough to stay outside year round while also blending in a bit with our gravel where they will be used. I also needed to make sure that the barrels had an easy way to open so I would not shake up the water every time I checked on it. So these twist open animal feed barrels did just the trick. I then bought a couple rain barrel spouts and got to work.

Below is a collection of videos showing the making and first test:

Step Three: Use Them!

So now that they have shown they keep a seal and are working pretty well, I can start to regularly cycle through the water in my studio while not adding a ton of clay and glaze remnants to the soil.