Welcome to our April edition of the Warwick Pottery Studio newsletter. Spring is finally in the air! Our April newsletter covers our new open studio time sign-up process, glazing tips, kiln room best practices, and introduces our new student spotlight! Check out all the details below!
– Marilyn
New Sign-up Process for Open Studio Time
Our open studio time runs most Sundays from 1:15 PM – 4:15 PM. Our open studio time is $20.00 per session and is only available to all of our currently registered students. Payment for open studio time is due the day of attendance and is payable to Marilyn via Venmo, Zelle, cash, or check (no PayPal please!)
To keep the studio running smoothly, we are introducing online sign-ups for open studio time. If you are planning on coming in for open studio time please sign-up ahead of time by clicking here. Please bookmark this link to save yourself time in the future!
Thank you for being a part of what makes Warwick Pottery truly amazing. If you have any questions about this new process, please contact us!
Studio Glazes and Housekeeping Tips – Experimenting with Commercial Glazes
You’ll find a selection of commercial pottery glazes and underglazes at Warwick Pottery. Feel free to try them out and see how they apply with your personal hand!
If you find one or more commercial glazes that you keep coming back to, please consider purchasing your own supply to keep in your personal stash. Much like in a painting studio where you are required to bring your own paints, the commercial glazes, like Amaco’s Potter’s Choice or Mayco’s Fundamentals Underglazes, are for testing and experimenting only. While we have too many glazes to keep up with refills, the buckets of glaze are certainly there for you to use all the time!
Please help keep our environment clean and free of excess glaze dust by wiping the rim of the pint (and its lid) clean and closing the lids tightly and properly. When glaze cakes up on the rim or lid, this creates flakes of glaze and contributes to dust!
Kiln Room Rules and Glazing Tips – How to Avoid Firing Mishaps
To ensure our kiln functions correctly and there are no mishaps during firing, it’s important to follow some rules when it comes to glazing your piece and preparing for its final firing.
1. For bisque ware, your pot should be bone dry before entering the kiln or there is a risk of it blowing up in the kiln.
2. For glaze ware, it is best practice to leave a quarter inch at the bottom of your piece completely free of glaze. When using more than one glaze on a single piece, it’s best to leave a third of an inch unglazed at the bottom. Leaving space at the bottom of your vessel will allow enough space for the glaze to run without risking damage to our kiln shelving.
3. Soft leather hard pieces should not be put in the kiln room to dry as the intense heat may cause them to warp or crack. You can judge whether your piece is soft leather hard by checking for three main characteristics: if the clay looks moist, still retains its color, or can be wiggled or manipulated in any way, this is considered soft leather hard and should not be in the kiln room.
4. If your glazed piece is down in the kiln room it’s assumed that you have followed the glazing rules and it will be fired as is. We hope that your piece will not have the glaze running down the wall or melted on the bottom. Not only is it very disappointing but it’s very costly for the studio to replace damaged kiln shelves as a result of improperly glazed pieces!
5. Make sure that all pieces are out of their molds, dry enough to keep their shape, and are on the dry side of leather hard before being placed in the kiln room.
6. Please do not leave paper or anything combustible in the kiln room.
Let’s work together to keep the studio safe and running smoothly!
NEW: Introducing our Student Spotlight
We are thrilled to introduce a new portion to our newsletter that we think you’ll enjoy! We know that many of you are passionate about pottery, just like we are! As our studio continues to grow, we wanted to create a space where we could shine a spotlight on some of the incredible students in our studio who are doing amazing things in the world of ceramics. That’s why we’re launching our new “Warwick Pottery Student Spotlight”, featuring one student every month and highlighting their unique talents, techniques, and inspirations. We can’t wait to share their stories with you and showcase the incredible work they’re creating.
So, without further ado, let’s get started and celebrate some amazing talent in our community!
Meet Neva Muehlbauer…
Neva is a talented and dedicated student who has been taking classes at Warwick Pottery for 15 years! Neva has a true passion for pottery and is constantly experimenting with new techniques and designs. Her pieces are always unique and full of personality.
In addition to her beautiful teapots, one of our favorite pieces that Neva has created is her ladybug-lidded vessel. This piece is complete with hand-built components and hand-painted underglaze. It’s clear that she puts a lot of love and care into her work. It definitely shows in the final product! We’re so proud to have Neva as part of our studio and can’t wait to see what she creates next!
Do you want to be featured in one of our upcoming Student Spotlights? Please let Marilyn know and forward some photos of your favorite pieces to be featured!