Help me with Craftiness (Dorodango)

[golentan]

Hey, so a conversation I just had has inspired me to try making dorodangos again...

For those unfamiliar with Dorodango (http://www.dorodango.com/gallery.html), it's effectively polishing mud until you wind up with a pearl. You make a rough sphere of earth, and then keep working it and polishing it, adding dirt, drawing out moisture, and polishing and polishing until you have a near perfect sphere, complete with a shiny silica glass or ceramic shell...

The problem I always had with this was soil selection. Everything I chose was either too claylike (which I could work into a capsule, but could never get beyond a matte finish) or too sandy (and refused to bond sturdily enough to form a sphere without breaking)... Any advice on how to avoid these fates? I'd like to make something beautiful...

For reference, this is one of my old attempts from several years ago: small, aye, and matte finish instead of shining, but I was so proud of it as my first success.

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/075/6/d/Dorodango_by_golentan.jpg

[Killer Angel]

Sadly, I only know that those thing exist and that, indeed, you need to work with a soil that is a good mix of sand and clay.

I believe you can make your own mixture, but you need some professional sieve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis) (ASTM). Once you have divided the soil into different granular gradiations, you start mixing sand, clay and water, recording the various weight / percentage of what you're using, 'til you find your perfect combination.


(but maybe it goes against the spirit of the practice?)

[golentan]

Sadly, I only know that those thing exist and that, indeed, you need to work with a soil that is a good mix of sand and clay.

I believe you can make your own mixture, but you need some professional sieve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis) (ASTM). Once you have divided the soil into different granular gradiations, you start mixing sand, clay and water, recording the various weight / percentage of what you're using, 'til you find your perfect combination.


(but maybe it goes against the spirit of the practice?)

Hmm, I was hoping to make it just with nearby, natural soil deposits, or... I saw the other day that someone had made one from ash, and was considering that as an alternative. Soil mixes are a good idea though, get some sand and some thicker soil and a sieve and mix until I get the right combination...

[SiuiS]

If you can get out to pittsburg/bay point, there's black diamond mines. Lots of red looking clay silt stuff? Maybe it's good for a thing or two.

[golentan]

If you can get out to pittsburg/bay point, there's black diamond mines. Lots of red looking clay silt stuff? Maybe it's good for a thing or two.

Hmm... I'm working with a deposit I actually got from a playground that seems to be working alright, though I don't know if it will be enough for the Hikaru shine on its own.