Here are some rules/tips for students and members new to the studio:
- Sign your pots! Some beginners don’t recognize the first pieces they make.
- Check carts thoroughly if you are missing pieces. Sometimes a piece will be on top of the glaze cart (labeled for pieces that cannot be fired due to a glaze mishap).
- Buying Clay: please purchase through website or in person on Tues & Wed 10-2
- New clay (25lbs) is $25.
- Recycled clay (25lbs) is $15.
- To keep the studio as clean as possible for all our members, please see video on proper clean-up procedure.
- Reclaiming your own clay:
- If a piece of clay doesn’t make its way to become a successful pot, but is still wet, you can put it in an empty plastic bag (located under the canvas wedging table) and wedge it again when it is the same consistency that comes out of your new or recycled bag of clay. See video for more instruction.
- Absolutely no outside clay, glaze, plaster or wax. This goes for underglazes as well. The only commercial underglaze The Clay School will allow is the Velvet series from Amaco, which can be purchased in the studio.
INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS (cleaning up, wedging and glazing)
FYI Pottery Terms
Stoneware-is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire clay. Stoneware is fired at high temperatures.
Greenware-refers to unfired clay pieces. At sufficient moisture content, pieces can be soft and malleable.
Leather-Hard-refers to clay pieces that have been dried partially (15% moisture content). The clay body is very firm and slightly pliable. Trimming and handle attachment often occurs at the leather-hard state.
Bone-Dry-refers to clay bodies when they reach a moisture content at or near 0%. It is now ready to be bisque fired.
Bisque-refers to the clay after the object is shaped to the desired form and fired in the kiln for the first time, known as “bisque fired” or “biscuit fired”.
Wedging– A procedure for preparing clay (mostly recycled) by de-airing it by hand. See video for more instruction.
Examples of glazes running, blistering, and crawling from glazing errors.