Each clay collected by Neve Beill is turned into a small test pot and added to her material archive. She compares both fired and raw forms, calculating the shrinkage rates. Initially, small test tiles are created and fired at varying temperatures to determine which temperature is optimal for desired strength, durability and aesthetic qualities. 

This clay from Wimbledon Woods fired a deep red. This is common for clay found in highly wooded areas due to iron oxide minerals. Beill is currently developing a range of ways to put this ‘waste material’ to use, whether this is through adding it to ash glaze recipes, or creating domestic wares and sculptural pieces made using this clay.