Clay is my favorite material. My afterschool job in high school was as an apprentice to a potter. I got to learn the craft from an old school perspective. This included rolling out clay slabs with a metal pipe and mixing all of the lead-based glazes without a respirator. Great way to learn and respect any material. Has provided a method to explore and use other materials ranging the full spectrum of natural to synthetics and tools, both hand and mechanical to process them.