Ancient Pottery Cord Paddled

My pottery is locally harvested wild native clay from the great plains, prairies and Flint hills of Kansas. I process all my clay by hand using both a wet and dry method depending on the clay properties. Sand or (Grog (ground up fired pottery)) is used as an additive to adjust the clay properties as need for strength and stability. My pieces are dried a fired with the same open pit fire methods used thousands of years ago. The black fire clouds are a result of flames and organic materials interacting with the clay.