Inspire Pottery Guidelines and Agreement

Studio Space Rental Memberships entitles you access to the facilities and use of the equipment and glazes. This membership commences on the 1st day of each month and ends on the last day (30 or 31st). Payments are due by the 5th of the month. This membership includes a 25# bag of clay and a $25 "fire fee" allowance.

Six-week class students who purchase a Preferred Membership will receive 25 pounds of clay and a $50 "fire fee" allowance every 6 weeks.

Any "fire fee allowances not used will not carryover to the next month/6-week session.

OPEN STUDIO hours are 8AM-11PM daily. More and more members are using the facilities multiple times per week. Classes are in session every evening, except Sundays, from 6:30

-8:30 PM. Priority space for throwing, trimming, and glazing must always go to class students during these instructional hours. Please be respectful.

CLEANUP

Clay is a messy process and leaves marks on us, the wheel, the floor, the wall, and basically any porous surface. Make sure when you are done creating, you wipe down any/all surfaces that you have worked on AND clean and put away any tools you may have used.

Clay dust is hazardous. If you must sand greenware and/or bisque imperfections, do it outdoors. Wearing a particle mask is recommended. For bone-dry greenware, please moisten with a sponge or spray before trimming. Both practices will keep harmful dust out of the studio.

Wax resist should be applied to allow a 1/4" glaze margin at the bottom of a pot, and ONLY the brushes marked with BLUE TAPE may be used. Permission for glazing inside foot rings will be determined by the glaze to be used and depth of the foot.

Glaze carefully. Open only one glaze bucket at a time. Make sure your pot is completely dry before layering with a different glaze and ONLY THE TOP 1/3 of a pot may be double dipped. When using Jen's Juicy Fruit, dip it only on the lip (1/8 inch) of a pot (mugs and taller/no plates or flat bowls) and place a Jen's Juicy card in your pot. These cards are available on the cabinet next to the glaze kilns. Wise glaze selection and careful application is essential. Firing fees are NOT refunded when you don't like the result, except if it's the fault of studio personnel. Any mess made by a pot not glazed with knowledge and care disrupts the firing of everyone else's pottery. A $5 fine will be deducted from your "fire fee" allowance for each piece found dripping or fused to a kiln shelf. Any pots not suitable for firing will be placed on the "thumbs down" shelf with a note explaining why it was not fired and what can be done to prepare it for the next firing.

Test tiles should be used when experimenting with a new combination. There is no firing fee for test tile samples. Put your name on the tile foot with an oxide and place it on a cookie on the glaze shelf. Keep a written record of the combination being tested in your pottery notebook.

Fire fees include BOTH bisque and glaze firings and the use of studio glazes.

Measure and price all glazed pots according to the "Fire Fee" posters on the back wall. A glaze firing form needs to be completed and the fees PAID BEFORE pots are placed on the glaze kiln shelves. Do NOT fill out a form for just one piece of pottery. Collect and save several pieces of your bisqueware to glaze in one session or store glazed pots on your shelf until you have at least 4 or 5 pieces.

Complete the pre-pay form at the front desk.

The WHITE copy stays in the book.

The YELLOW copy is put with your pots on a glaze shelf.

The Pink copy is your receipt to keep.

Pay the fire fees (cash, credit, or debit from your firing fee allowance).

Payments will be accepted Weekdays from 9AM-to 5PM and Monday through Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 8:30.

As a member of Inspire Pottery Studio, you share responsibility for the welfare of the studio space, equipment, and everyone around you.

Be careful while working and have fun!