Welcome to another edition of the Warwick Pottery Studio newsletter. The weather is finally warming and spring is in the air! Our March newsletter covers our open studio time, glazing tips, studio best practices, and our upcoming spring cleaning. Check out all the details below!
– Marilyn
5 Ways to Your Pottery Teacher’s Heart ♥
Our studio is small but mighty! There’s always a lot going on at any given moment. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of our studio, we want to make sure the basics are being covered by every student at all times. Below are 5 best practices to follow when you’re in the pottery studio.
1. Clean up after using all tools, wheel, wheel legs, chairs, foot pedals, and supplies. Always make sure your last wipe is with a clean, wrung-out sponge. Our studio is a small, shared space and should always be left cleaner than it was found!
2. Sign your work! Please mark your work with your name or stamp to ensure pieces do not get handled or taken by the wrong person.
3. Write your name on the side and bottom of your bag of clay so your bag doesn’t end up missing or in the wrong spot.
4. If you are done working in one area of the studio, please ensure it is cleaned up fully before moving to another area.
5. Be considerate of others’ work, do not touch, move, or bump work that does not belong to you.
Visit our Studio Rules and Etiquette page to learn more tips and tricks!
No Mess, No Stress! – Kiln Room Spring Cleaning
They say spring cleaning is the chance to hit the reset button. “Who’s ‘they’?” you might ask, well, I’m not sure- but we’re going to see if they’re right! During the last week of March, we will be conducting a large bisque clean-up! Please make sure that you retrieve your pieces before then. Any old bisque ware that has not been claimed will be used for glaze tests!
The Glaze Corner: Kiln Rules
We put a lot of time and energy into every piece that we bring to life. Please ensure you are always following glazing best practices to ensure your piece comes out as expected, kiln mishaps are no fun!
In order to avoid fused pieces (and damaged kiln shelves!) always ensure you’re leaving ¼’ on the bottom edge of your work! Much like people, each glaze is different and may run during firing. It’s important to leave space for your glaze to run, not only to ensure a beautiful result but also to preserve the life of our kiln shelves. Our kiln shelves are constantly in use and are expensive to replace when they have been damaged by glaze. When we don’t have enough kiln shelves, this impacts our ability to be efficient with our firings, and results in a backlog in our firing and unhappy students!
Pro tip: Did you know glaze fires differently depending on how heavily it was applied? Instead of throwing away your next failed piece, keep it as a test tile to see how a particular glaze fires with your personal hand!
Open Studio Time – for Registered Students Only
Our open studio time is only available to currently registered students of Warwick Pottery. Our open studio time takes place most Sundays from 1:15PM – 4:15PM for $20.00 per session. This time can be used to explore clay independently, work on ongoing projects, or hone your skills! If you are planning on attending open studio time, please sign up ahead of time and pay Marilyn on the day of your session via check, cash, Venmo, or Zelle.