MEMBER GUIDELINES ART ALLEY STUDIO MISSION STATEMENT:
I am offering a fun, safe, friendly studio for people to enjoy each other’s company and to enjoy the medium of clay..
I want people to get to know each other.Please model friendliness by greeting each other upon arrival and when leaving to create a sense of community and camaraderie. Members are encouraged to come often to practice & to develop your own style.
MUSIC You don’t have to listen to MUSIC you don’t like. Since my music, and music volume, may be your noise, and vice versa, be courteous with music. If possible, use earphones. If not, please keep music volume low.
Regardless of volume or content, anyone in the studio who is bothered by music has the right to ask anyone else to turn his/her music off. This includes people coming into the studio when music is already playing. In other words, there is no first come, first serve when it comes to music.You don’t have to listen to music you don’t like. “Right to change stations or Fast Forward”!
CLAYS: Student clay is brownstone and little loafers. Members have more choices but must recycle their own clay. Don’t mix clays in the recycle bucket.
No outside clay to prevent contamination and firing disasters.
RECYCLE CLAY Put wrecked thrown pots & leather hard trimmings (dipped into water and squeeze) back into clay bag for reuse., We have 2 studio clays: brownstone and little loafers.
Don’t sell the other clay types to students. Members have requested those other clays. Don’t mix clays in the recycle bucket. Keep your wet clay in your personal water bucket and recycle on plaster with a name indicator.
Fold empty CLAY BAGS and put in storage bucket near the recycle station. (These bags aren’t available to buy so I save them.)
CLEANING UP Close your clay bag. Use clean hands to make sure there is no clay on the outside of the bag. Why? it dries in flakes. Keep clay crumbles off the floor to prevent pulverized dust (from foot traffic) floating up into our lungs
Clean TABLES with a plastic scraper (metal scrapers are used for scraping kiln wash off of kiln shelves). Use a large sponge on tables
Clean FLOORS with broom, sponge or mop. When mopping, to avoid clay stripes on the floor, use the the mop bucket to retain dirty water only. Keep refreshing clean water in a bucket in the sink. Pour mop water down the sink.
Use only one work area at a time. When finished on the wheel or the table, clean it before moving to another work area.
Put up wet tools and buckets, keeping the sink clear of items.
WHEEL CLEAN UP and tools at station. Clean up tools, splash pan and wheel using your throwing bucket. Check your bucket for tools then dump slip into the community recycle barrel rinse bucket with clean water; this keeps clay out of the sink. Take your throwing sponge to the recycle bucket to clean throwers bucket. Please remove clear water from the top of the recycle bucket before cleanup so there is room for more dirty water.
No clay down the sink..
WHEEL throwers don’t stand up and leave station with slip filled hands because clay winds up on the faucet, on the stools, on the outside of their clay bag, on the door etc.
Use sponges and hand towels for cleaning and drying. No paper towel use for potters.
TOOLS: Members and students need to provide their own tools and bats. Students have access to buckets and bats for the wheel.
You can use class carts to place pots: green ware, bisque and glaze.
Use SHELVES above wheels to store work under plastic.
Make a clay medallion name placard for pots in case we need to retrieve bats or move pots.
Cover well with dry cleaner bags not clay bags. Also, a sticky note with name is helpful so we don’t have to peak under bags. There is a problem with work getting dry because it doesn’t get covered back up properly.
Be careful of the work on the green ware shelf. Please police students when appropriate. Tell students not to touch green ware! Bisque is okay to rummage through to find pots.
When sanding your pots please clean up dust well. Sand on back patio. Keep your bisqued pots in your cubby.
SIGN WORK Develop your own personal signature for your work. Pots that are cracked, untrimmed, or unsigned will not be bisque fired.
SLAB ROLLER: keep the slab mats clear of the edges of the roller, don’t fold, don’t store under slab roller.
Make sure clay doesn’t get too long when rolled to keep it under the mat. Order of operations, wedge, remove crumbs from table top to put slab, then roll slab.
CUT slab on table canvas or board not the slab mat! Use boards or canvas on table or use large canvas on the table. No exacto knives permitted. Why? I’ve lost canvases to the knife.
SLAB MAKING Recycle too-dry slab clay by dipping it into water without balling it up. Put back into bag.
GLAZING: Use a bucket of water and throwing sponge every time you glaze so that you are not walking to the sink with a dripping pot. Wax the pots with a small sponge and rinse this sponge before putting away. Try not to waste glaze. If necessary, wash and reglaze pot another day after the bisqued pot is dry again. Check glaze for a well stirred mix and correct thickness. Only 2 coats on partial parts of a pot using different colors. Do not use my underglazes from the white hall closet. Don’t use under glazes or glazes with the table covered with canvas. Use the plastic table covers to glaze.
Large buckets contain studio made, cone 6 glazes for oxidation electric kiln. Smaller buckets may have commercial powdered glazes, jars of glazes are available for student use.
Make sure you stir the glaze completely from the bottom. This takes a few minutes. Why? The glaze recipe has to be mixed in its entirety for it to work correctly.
Don’t subtract water from any glazes. Why? It has chemicals in solution needed for the recipe.The consistency of the glaze is important.
If you see a glaze is lumpy, too low or too thick, alert Allison to correct the glaze.
You may use commercial glazes meant to fire at cone 5/6.
SHOWS: We have periodic art shows and Clay sales. We are on the Art Walk circuit held on the last Friday of each month downtown. You are welcome to host an art walk event. No gallery fee will be collected from members. You are welcome to sell your work at the studio. We all pitch in for Art Walk expenses if we participate. You are welcome to host on the last Friday of the month.
GUESTS: You are welcome to have guests at the studio. If they want to do some art work or clay work with you please put $10 per hour in the bank box. Please make sure they follow all the guidelines.
MISCELLANEOUS, but still important:
Please take your phone calls outside.
Do not leave food in the studio, as attracts pests. Pack your food trash and take it out.
Please check restroom for cleanliness and correct if necessary. Please alert me if we need paper products.
KEY DEPOSIT $25 Members don’t duplicate studio keys.
PAYMENT: Pay before the 1st of the month. $150.00.
LATE CHARGE: $2.00 per day. Please add to your check. Please don’t make me ask for the late charge.
Put check in wooden box secured to Allison’s private studio shelf. Make checks payable to ART ALLEY STUDIO.
Write a receipt for purchases, including date (in the date box), name, purchase description, form of payment. No need to write a receipt with your member payment when using a check.
CLAY COST $35.00/25lbs. and can be bought in ½ or whole bags.
KILN USE
KILN FEES: Bisque free when using ART ALLEY clay,
Glaze firing – $.025/cu in. per pot, $15 – ½ shelf, $25 – full shelf
APPRENTICESHIP If you want to learn how to fire a kiln you can become a Firing APPRENTICE. You will load approximately ten kilns, both bisque and glaze under supervision. When you can load, fire, and clean up without help you can load and fire your own work by yourself. $35 for initial instruction + 10 hours of loading/unloading practice.
Experienced clay firers – $80 for full kiln – reserve on calendar, fill out firing ledger, write down the start and finish meter reading. Before firing turn on fan in window facing out. Turn off air A/C. When checking to see if the kiln is finished firing. Turn the A/C back on in the morning. Wait 24 hrs before unloading or when the temp. comes down to 100F. Don’t use gloves to unload hot pots. Wash kiln shelves after firing: no wash on the side or bottom of shelf. Kiln shelves fired wet are likely to chip. Sweep and put away furniture by size.
FIRING RECEIPT- Use the firing receipt for firing fees. Use “maker’s mark” box. White slip goes in the bank box with a check or cash. (no need to fold checks or attach cash to receipt). Yellow slip goes with the pot on the glaze shelf
FIRING FEES are labeled on the slip. $1.00 is the smallest fee that is collected for any very small piece. I accept work made outside of the studio to fire.
Always confirm that the kiln is off when it is predicted by checking it and then texting Allison.
CLOSING & SECURING STUDIO:
The last person at the studio should:
Ensure that all non-members (non-key holders) leave the studio when you leave. Members are under no obligation to manage students using the studio outside of the student’s class.
Turn off both air conditioners to closed – off – position (with the remote found on the wall at the front door). In the summer we will leave one A/C on at 82F. Why? We cant get the building cool enough in the day when it is so hot at night.
Make sure all the wheels and 4 sets of lights (front door, above middle table, back door, chain over slab roller) are turned off. Exception: keep the outside motion light on (switch closest to front door).
Lock 2 doors- front and back glass doors.
You are my emissaries for new and prospective students. Please be informative and friendly. Pass out a business card. Show them around. You can sell clay with cash, check or Venmo
On the other hand, you are not required to keep the door unlocked when you are at Art Alley and you don’t have to open the door for anyone that you don’t trust.
Thanks for becoming a member.
Allison LeBaron
I have read and agree to adhere to the above guidelines and procedures. I don’t mind being reminded of them when need be.
Signed: _______________________________________ Date: _____________________
Too much glaze!