The first pressed clay is now out of the mold and she came out with a very minimal amount of surface defects that have to be fixed by hand. In the 1890s when these pieces were made the workers pounded the clay in using a small sand bag to ram the clay into the details and eliminate the little “creases” that I seem to get between pieces of clay laid in and pressed next to each other. Might help too if the clay was a little more moist and softer but I hesitate to add water since more water causes more shrinkage. To get a batch custom mixed to add…