Natural (clay) plaster recipe

[patrick newberry]

Thanks I will be trying this recipe soon(like in the next  week or two)
I'll let you know my results.




At 09:24 PM 9/22/96 -0500, you wrote:
>Hay folks:
>        Here's a recipe for a clay based plaster from Robert LaPorte (the
>guy who does straw/clay-what Patrick is doing in Georgia now).  From what I
>hear, the final coat should be fine for interior applications (won't rub off
>with every day use) but if used on the exterior it needs a small top coat
>added every 3 or 4 years because the plaster literally erodes off the wall.
>I still hope to try this recipe out on a strawbale display we did here in
>Minneapolis.  Instead of 'mining' clay from my garden, we bought two bags of
>Hawthorne Fire Clay.  This is the cheapest clay available (normally used for
>pots, etc.) and it also has the lowest shrink swell potential.  The cost for
>a 90 lb bag is about half that of portland cement. We bought it at a pottery
>supply company.   Its a fine powder that has a very nice soft feel to it.  
>
>Natural Plaster, (from Robert LaPorte's Moose Prints)
>
>Rough Coat:
>	1 part creamy clay slip (from site or mixed water and clay)
>	2 parts medium sand
>	1/2 part fiber (chopped straw)
>	
>Finish Coat:
>	1 part creamy clay slip (from site or mixed water and clay)
>	2 parts medium sand
>	1/2-1% oil or eggs (by volume)
>	fiber optional
>
>
>Eric Hart
>Minneapolis, MN
>
>