WELCOME to ART ALLEY, Allison LeBaron’s Community Clay and Painting Studio.
Here are some items I need you to know about so that the studio will be a happy place for all of us to make art. Please greet your class mates, get to know each other , and say goodbye on your way out the door. I made this art studio so I don’t have to be a loner artist anymore. I’m enjoying your company and hope you will enjoy ours.
MUSIC:
If you don’t like the music just say so. We can all agree to a music genre or song. The artist is a sensitive being and is not expected to create masterpieces under auditory distress.
TOOLS:
You need to provide your own set of throwing tools (leave your exacto knives, paring knives and scalpels at home). Art Alley Studio sells all the tools and clay you will need. Aprons, ware boards and bats (wheel plates) are provided. Cubby space will be assigned to leave clay and tools at the studio.
GLAZES:
5 gallon buckets contain cone 6 glazes for oxidation electric kiln. Use plastic on tables for glazing and painting (Don’t get glaze on the canvas). Small jars of commercial glazes are available but are not replenished. Underglazes are also used at the studio.
Don’t add or subtract water from any glazes; they have been carefully formulated for optimum consistency. Make sure you stir the glaze completely from the bottom. This takes a few minutes. Ask your teacher if the glaze looks to thick or thin before dipping your pot.
If you see that a glaze is low or too thick, let Allison adjust the glaze.
Don’t bring outside clay and glazes, (to prevent firing disasters).
Wash or scrape discarded glaze off pot into trash.
CLEANING UP:
Please clean table with a scraper or sponge and the floor with broom and mop when you’re done in your working area. When mopping, keep refreshing the bucket water in the sink to avoid white clay stripes on the floor. Keep stools right side up when cleaning so the padding doesn’t dent.
When finished on the wheel or the table, clean up before moving to the other work area. Turn off wheels. Clean up splash pans at your wheel with your bucket of water; this keeps clay out of the sink.
Put wet tools and buckets away keeping the sink clear of items.
No paper towel use for potters. Please bring a hand towel and clean your clay hands in a bucket with a sponge.
MISCELLANEOUS, but still important:
Pack your food trash and take it out as it attracts cockroaches. We don’t have trash pick up. We pack our trash. Do not allow small amounts of clay, glaze, water or anything out in the parking lot.
Sand bone dry green ware on back porch over newspaper with a green scrubby. Clean up dust well to avoid spreading silicosis danger. Even better, use a metal rib to finish your pots when they are leather hard and forego sanding at the bone dry stage all together.
Move your dry, unfired pots off of the work in progress shelves on the walls, to the green ware cart when you want it fired. Be sure it is signed with a name (not initialed). No unsigned, cracked or 1″+ thick pots will be fired. Put glazed ware on glaze cart to be fired. Make sure there is no glaze on the bottoms. Pots will be fired when there is enough ware to fill a kiln or by the end of each session.
FEES:
Kiln fees: Bisque free includes glazes for your pots, Glaze firing – $.025/cu in. per pot, (length x width x height x .025) $15 – ½ shelf, $25 – full shelf.
$50 for 1hr. private session.
Clay $35- 25lb bag. . $20- 12-1/2lb. bag $15- 10lb. bag. Clay use included with the clay. You will use approximately 1/2 bag of clay during the 8 weeks. You can purchase extra clay for use at home or during open studio. Open studio offers an extra practice time for current students. Tuesday evenings 5:30-8:00pm and Saturday mornings 10:00-12:30pm. $5 at the door to pay the monitor.
Please fill out a receipt to buy clay or tools or a special firing receipt to indicated what pots of yours are going in the kiln, with your name & the way you signed the pot, date, itemization and payment type. Drop checks and cash in wooden money box.
Thank you for your cooperation, Allison LeBaron