May 27,  2002

"We did it!  We did it!" was all I could say as Joy and I stood arm in arm gazing at our freshly made clay bricks.  On a beautiful, clear May day, Joy Fox and I set out to make clay bricks for a retaining wall that was to be incorporated into the already serene landscaping that shaped the back portion of her retreat center, Wattle Hollow.  Joy had heard about making these bricks from a dear friend who lives in Taiwan but had not yet attempted this process on her own - so it was quite an adventure for both of us.  Due to the high clay content found in the soil in this particular area of her property we began digging up then hand sorting each piece to clean it of rock, sticks or any other kind of debris.  The "clean" clay was then loaded into a 5 gallon bucket which was then carried down a rock-tiered path to a giant mortar-and-pestlel type pit made completely of earth.  After filling this large pit about half full of clay we added water to cream the clay.  This creaming technique was accomplished by kneading the mixture with our bare feet as one would stomp grapes.  It was exhilarating!  I've never had so much fun playing in the mud!  I couldn't quit thinking of my 4 year old daughter, Mia, and how much she would have loved to have joined us.  After about 4 hours of stomping and adding more and more water we added approximately 2 five gallon buckets of dried rice hulls.  This gave the pudding consistency of the clay enough cohesiveness or "body"  to mold it into bricks.  There was a ladder-like form that Joy had previously built from cut 2 X 4s.  There were spaces for 5 bricks in the form that were approximately 4" deep, 14" long, and 12" wide.  The form had been dipped into water in an effort to prevent the clay from sticking to it.  We then hand-scooped the clay from the pit into a 5 gallon bucket which was carried to the wet form.  After all the spaces were filled we then gently lifted the form up leaving the clay completely undisturbed.  We stood back gazing in total wonder at the perfectly formed clay bricks as they lay drying on the tarp covered dock by the pond.  As I sit here, a whole week later, my feet literally tingle from the experience.  It was amazing!  

Teri Robbins
Ft. Smith, Ark.