Clay Powder for Sale: 6 Dry Pottery Clays and Raw Clays Compared

Clay powder for sale for pottery is sold by ceramic suppliers in two forms: dry clay bodies, which are complete clay recipes you mix with water, and raw clays such as ball clay, kaolin, fire clay and red clay that potters use to build their own bodies, slips and glazes. Most home potters only need dry clay if they want to cut cost at volume, mix casting slip or make custom bodies. This guide is research-based: we compared dealer listings and maker data from The Ceramic Shop, The Potter's Center, Laguna, Clay-King, Seattle Pottery Supply and Digitalfire. We have not mixed or fired these clays ourselves. Specs checked October 2026.

Quick picks

• Best dry clay body for mid-fire: Standard 153 Beige Stoneware Dry (cone 6 to 10, published shrinkage and absorption)
• Best dry clay body for cone 10: Laguna B-Mix 10 Dry (WC379; the dry version of a well-known throwing body)
• Best stoneware clay powder for recipes: Cedar Heights Goldart (plastic, 200 mesh, can stand alone)
• Best terracotta clay powder: Cedar Heights Redart (cone 06 to 3, red-firing)
• Best for plasticity and slips: Kentucky OM-4 Ball Clay (fine, plastic, low cost per pound)
• Best kaolin while EPK is scarce: Tile 6 Kaolin (plastic, bright firing)

Comparison table

Standard 153 Beige Stoneware Dry

Standard 153 is a complete stoneware body sold as powder, so you add only water. We picked it because The Ceramic Shop publishes the numbers most dry clays lack: 11.5% shrinkage and 5% absorption at cone 6, and 13% shrinkage and 2% absorption at cone 10. That gives you a known target, which matters when you mix the clay yourself and cannot compare it to a factory-pugged block.

The listing describes it as a soft, warm beige in oxidation and a rich gray-brown in reduction, good for all techniques and suitable for beginners. Note that the cone range appears two ways on the listing (cone 6 to 10 and cone 4 to 10), so treat cone 6 as the low end until you have tested it. At cone 6 the 5% absorption is on the open side for mugs and bowls, so a liner glaze matters.

The big draw is price at volume. The Ceramic Shop lists it from about $1.42 per pound for a single 50 lb bag down to about $0.71 per pound at 1,000 lb, and because moist clay is 20% to 30% water, each dry pound makes more than a pound of working clay. It is sold in 50 lb bags only.

• Type: Dry stoneware clay body
• Cone: 6 to 10 (listing also shows 4 to 10)
• Shrinkage: 11.5% at cone 6; 13% at cone 10
• Absorption: 5% at cone 6; 2% at cone 10
• Color: Beige in oxidation; gray-brown in reduction
• Package: 50 lb bag

Who should skip it: Anyone who fires only a few pots a month without a mixer; a boxed moist stoneware costs little more and saves a day of dusty work.

Laguna B-Mix 10 Dry (WC379)

B-Mix is one of the best-known throwing bodies in the US, and Laguna confirms on its WC379 spec page that the cone 10 version is available dry with a 50 lb minimum, ordered by phone. We picked it because you get a body with a long track record and published data: about 13% shrinkage and about 1% absorption at cone 10, firing cream in oxidation and dark cream in reduction.

Laguna describes it as a smooth, cream-white throwing clay with porcelain-like qualities. Dealers stock the dry version too: The Potter's Center listed B Mix Dry Clay (WC379) at about $50 to $55 per 50 lb bag and in stock in October 2026. That is a little more per pound than buying B-Mix moist in bulk from Laguna, but dry clay ships lighter per pound of finished clay and stores without drying out.

This is a cone 10 body. If your kiln tops out at cone 6, choose the cone 5 B-Mix in moist form instead; we did not find a dry cone 5 B-Mix listed at the dealers we checked.

• Type: Dry stoneware clay body (porcelain-like)
• Cone: 10
• Shrinkage: About 13% (plus or minus 2%)
• Absorption: About 1% (plus or minus 1%)
• Color: Cream in oxidation; dark cream in reduction
• Package: 50 lb bag; Laguna minimum 50 lb, by phone

Who should skip it: Mid-fire potters with a cone 6 electric kiln.

Cedar Heights Goldart

Goldart is a raw stoneware clay, not a finished body, but it is one of the most used ingredients in published clay body recipes. Clay-King describes it as a selectively mined, plastic stoneware clay airfloated to 200 mesh, with working properties good enough to use alone. Digitalfire confirms it is mined in southern Ohio by Cedar Heights and fires from white at cone 06 through cream and tan to light buff at cone 10 reduction.

We picked it because it is the most flexible single powder for a potter starting to mix bodies or slips: it adds plasticity and a warm buff color, it vitrifies by cone 10, and it is easy to find. Clay-King lists it at about $1.25 per pound in 5 lb steps, with a full bag of 50 lb. Digitalfire notes it contains some sulfur.

Cedar Heights also makes a coarser 50 mesh version called Bonding Clay for bodies that need more tooth.

• Type: Raw stoneware (fire) clay powder
• Particle size: 200 mesh, airfloated
• Firing range: Wide; vitrifies around cone 10; Clay-King lists cone 10 to 12 maximum
• Fired color: Light to golden buff
• Package: 5 lb steps; 50 lb full bag (Clay-King)

Who should skip it: Anyone who just wants clay to throw with; buy a finished body instead.

Cedar Heights Redart

Redart is the standard red earthenware powder in North American pottery. The Ceramic Shop describes it as a red-firing clay with moderate plasticity and low shrinkage, airfloated to 200 mesh, firing from cone 06 to cone 3 and turning light orange to dark red as the temperature climbs. It notes cone 02 as a good balance of color and strength. Because it is so high in iron, the powder itself is deep red and messy to handle.

We picked it because it answers the terracotta clay powder search directly: it can be the base of a terracotta throwing body (with ball clay added), it works as a casting body, and it is used in glazes as an iron source. One caution from The Ceramic Shop: Cedar Heights moved to a different seam, and the newer material is denser, less plastic, more refractory and fires lighter than older Redart, so old recipes should be retested.

Seattle Pottery Supply sells it in 1 lb packs at about $4 and listed it out of stock with back orders in October 2026. Bulk prices were not published on the pages we checked; ask your dealer.

• Type: Raw red earthenware clay powder
• Particle size: 200 mesh, airfloated
• Cone: 06 to 3 (cone 02 suggested for color and strength)
• Fired color: Light orange to dark red
• Package: 1 lb packs at Seattle Pottery Supply; bulk sizes vary by dealer

Who should skip it: Mid-fire and high fire potters looking for a body; Redart is rated cone 06 to 3 only.

Kentucky OM-4 Ball Clay

Ball clay is the plasticizer in most stoneware and many porcelain bodies, and OM-4 is the one most recipes name. Clay-King calls it an industry standard for casting and plastic-formed bodies, with excellent plasticity and strength, and also useful for suspending glazes. Digitalfire lists its origin as Mayfield, Kentucky, a water of plasticity of 32.8% and dry shrinkage of 6.2%, with roughly 26% alumina and 60% silica.

We picked it as the most useful single powder after a finished body. A small addition makes a short clay more throwable, it is a common base for slips and engobes, and it is one of the cheapest clays per pound: Clay-King lists it at about $0.93 per pound in 5 lb steps, 50 lb per full bag.

Two cautions from Digitalfire: OM-4 is variable between lots, and it contains soluble salts that can leave yellow or brownish staining, especially at cone 10 reduction. Clay-King notes that barium carbonate can help with this, and that material needs careful handling per its SDS. Our ball clay guide explains how ball clays differ.

• Type: Raw ball clay powder
• Origin: Mayfield, Kentucky
• Water of plasticity: 32.8% (Digitalfire)
• Dry shrinkage: 6.2% (Digitalfire)
• Fired color: Cream to buff
• Package: 5 lb steps; 50 lb full bag (Clay-King)

Who should skip it: Potters who do not plan to adjust or mix their own bodies or slips.

Tile 6 Kaolin

Kaolin is the white-firing clay at the heart of porcelain and most glazes. For years the default US choice was EPK, but Seattle Pottery Supply reported in December 2025 that the EPK source mine had stopped again and might not restart soon, and Clay-King listed EPK out of stock with no restock date in October 2026. Tile 6 is the alternative both Clay-King and Digitalfire point to.

We picked it because it is in stock at a major dealer and is the more plastic option. Clay-King describes Tile 6 as an airfloated kaolin with bright firing properties that is highly plastic with high green strength, at about $1.60 per pound in 5 lb steps. Digitalfire notes it is more plastic than EPK but a little higher in iron, so expect a slightly less white result in porcelain.

Use it in porcelain and white stoneware bodies, white slips and glaze recipes. If a recipe calls for EPK, test a small batch with the substitute first, since slurry behavior and color can shift. Seattle Pottery Supply also suggests Wilco UPF, a Georgia kaolin, as an EPK replacement.

• Type: Raw kaolin powder, airfloated
• Plasticity: High for a kaolin, with high green strength (Clay-King)
• Fired color: Bright firing; slightly more iron than EPK (Digitalfire)
• Uses: Porcelain and white bodies, slips, glazes
• Package: 5 lb steps; 50 lb full bag (Clay-King)

Who should skip it: Anyone needing the whitest possible porcelain; a premium kaolin such as Grolleg fits better.

How to choose clay powder

Dry clay body or raw clay?

A dry clay body is a finished recipe: add water, mix, age and wedge. It suits potters who use a lot of clay, store clay for a long time, or want lighter freight. Raw clays are ingredients. Buy them only if you are following a recipe for a body, slip, engobe or glaze. Our what is clay made of guide explains what each ingredient does.

Match the cone

Choose a body rated for the cone your kiln reaches and you plan to fire. Standard 153 covers cone 6 to 10; B-Mix 10 Dry is cone 10 only; Redart belongs in low fire work. A body fired past its range can slump or bloat.

Know how much water to add

Moist throwing clay is roughly 20% to 30% water by weight: Digitalfire cites a porcelain that throws well at 21% to 22% water, and Ceramic Arts Daily forum posters put general clay near 30%. By our arithmetic from those figures, 50 lb of dry clay needs roughly 12 to 21 lb of water, about 1.5 to 2.6 gallons. Start at the low end and add more slowly; follow the maker's note if one is supplied.

How to mix it

1. Work outside or in a ventilated space, wearing a NIOSH-approved respirator, gloves and washable clothes.
2. Put the water in a lidded bucket first, then sift the powder in gently to keep dust down.
3. Let it slake (soak) without stirring until it is fully wet, usually overnight.
4. Mix the slurry, then spread it on plaster bats or canvas to firm up to working consistency.
5. Wedge thoroughly, bag it tightly and let it age; older clay is usually more plastic. Our how to wedge clay guide covers the technique.

At larger volumes a clay mixer or a mixing pug mill does the job with far less dust and effort, and a de-airing pug mill gives a denser clay for throwing.

Is it cheaper?

Per pound of finished clay, dry is a little cheaper and much cheaper at 500 lb or more. Factor in your time, equipment and cleanup. For a full price comparison see how much clay costs.

Where to buy clay powder

Buy from ceramic suppliers: Laguna (dry bodies by phone), The Ceramic Shop and The Potter's Center (dry bodies), and Clay-King and Seattle Pottery Supply (raw clays in 1 to 50 lb amounts). Amazon has some raw ceramic materials from third-party sellers; check that the listing names the material grade and links an SDS, and avoid cosmetic grades.

Storage

Dry clay keeps indefinitely if it stays dry. Store bags off the floor in a sealed bin so they do not absorb moisture or tear and leak dust. Unlike moist clay, it will not be ruined by freezing.