800 Moss Street and 2109 Cottle Drive

Adult Ceramics Studio Policy

Access Arts Clay Studio Policies & Procedures Aug. 2025

Access Arts’ mission is to make arts more accessible to the underserved, and provide creative learning opportunities to the whole community. Our goal is to provide an encouraging atmosphere to enhance the experiences of students in our professionally equipped facilities.

To keep a safe, efficient, and healthy working environment for everyone, we ask that all members of the clay community follow these procedures.

Class Times: Students should arrive no earlier than fifteen minutes before the scheduled class time. (Ex. you may arrive at 5:45pm for a 6:00pm class) Students should be cleaned up and ready to leave the studio by the completion of class. Students may not stay beyond scheduled class time.

Open Studio: Open studio times are offered as a benefit to students taking a class, as well as offered alone as an independent study option. There are no Open Studio hours between class terms. This is the time we utilize to fire kilns and prepare for the next session. Open studio members must be able to work independently, and be confident in studio policy and safety. Staff is not available for assistance during Open Studio times.

Bad Weather Make-up Classes: Classes canceled due to weather or illness of the instructor will be made up as soon as possible. You will be notified by the instructor or Studio Manager if class is canceled for inclement weather, so make sure our instructors have your correct contact information. If class is NOT canceled, but snowy/icy weather still occurs, please do not park in the parking lot at Moss, as the incline makes it difficult to get out with bad road conditions.

Makeup classes will not be provided for individual students who miss class due to personal reasons. Please plan your schedules accordingly and make the most of your 6 classes and open studio time.

Cell Phones: In order to maintain a focused work environment we ask that you respect your fellow students and faculty by silencing your cell phone at the start of class and open studio. If you must take a call, please move out of the class work space so as to not disturb other students.

Mark Your Work: To help you and others identify your work as it comes out of the kilns, please mark your work clearly in a distinctive manner. A signature or stamp should be clearly visible on the bottom of all pieces. Your maker’s mark should also be a part of the label on your personal shelf that includes your name.

Personal Safety: Each student is responsible for working in a safe and conscientious manner while in the studio, being mindful of the safety of themselves and others. If for any reason a student is deemed not to be doing so by Access Arts faculty or staff, they may be asked to leave the studio. To help minimize the chance of exposure to materials, there should be NO eating in the studio. All students should wear closed toed shoes while in the studio, and any student participating in a firing class must wear appropriate attire as outlined by the faculty or be restricted from participating in the firing activity. Students who forgo these precautions do so at their own risk.

Email Correspondence: The studio manager will email all students at the beginning and near the end of class sessions to communicate important information. Please make sure you are reading End-Of-Session and Upcoming Class emails, as information may change session by session. Email is the best way to get in touch with the studio manager or your instructor.

Class Supplies: Included with a clay purchase/clay allotment as part of a class fee, students receive 1 glaze and 1 bisk firing. Clay/Glaze/Firing fees are subject to change.

• Clay: Students are allotted (1) 25lb bag of studio mixed clay as part of their class fee. Open studio only students must purchase clay outside of their class fee, and will be instructed by the studio manager on where to collect clay. When purchasing clay, students must show their instructor or the studio manager a copy of their receipt that will be emailed to them through Sawyer. Students may only use clay purchased from Access Arts. Outside clays run the risk of being the wrong temperature and melting in the kiln, which can destroy work and equipment.

• Glazes: Glazes are provided by the studio for students and open studio members to use freely. Students may not bring in or use outside glazes- including commercial bought glazes- without explicit permission from the Studio Manager. Using untested/outside glazes runs the risk of destroying other students' work as well as Access Arts equipment. Students are welcome to purchase and use Speedball and Amaco underglazes for their own work.

• Tools: We offer a range of tools for students to use during class time and open studio. Personal tools should be kept on one's shelf or taken home after each class or open studio meeting, and should be labeled with the students’ initials to avoid them getting mixed in with classroom tools.

• Aprons: Students are welcome to use aprons provided by Access Arts. Please return your apron to the appropriate place when class has finished for the day/evening.

Abandoned Items: Any items (clay, pots, tools, etc.) left on one’s personal shelf after the last day of open studio of a session will be forfeited back to the studio, regardless of if a student is returning for the next session. Please do not leave work or personal items on your shelf at the end of a session with notes regarding your return.

Finished Work Pick Up: Pieces created during a session that have been glazed before the last class are ready to pick up at the start of the following session. Matriculating students may pick them up during their class times, all other students may pick work up during open studio hours.

Discarding Old Work: Biskware and Glazeware that is left on the shelves may be forfeited to the studio after 2 months. We have implemented a “sticker system” to keep track of when glazed pieces are fired. The Studio Manager will post signage and send emails relaying when older work will be discarded. Biskware is stamped on the bottom with the date it is taken out of the kiln, and may be discarded 2 months after the stamped date.

Storage of Work: Students are allotted one shelf space - no other storage space is permitted unless expressed by their instructor. Students should label each shelf with their name and maker’s mark, using tape and a sharpie. This space is used for students’ clay, in process work, and tool storage. Consolidate work onto ware boards as needed, and do not use bats for storing work. It is the students responsibility to keep work wrapped appropriately so it does not dry out. Consult with your instructor if assistance is needed.

Processing Your Work: To assist the studio in timely firing, we ask that you process your work as expediently as possible. This is how it goes:

1) Check your work on class shelves first thing upon coming to class. If any work is bone dry (has dried completely to a lighter color), place it on the “to be bisked” shelf.

2) Check bisk shelves every class time, and glaze your work as soon as possible.

3) Check finished work shelves often and remove all finished ware. Work not claimed within two months of the end of each session will be removed and discarded. Please take all finished work home. Ask your teacher if you do not fully understand any of the above procedures.

• Wet Clay Stop Day: This is the final day to begin new projects, particularly on the wheel. Clay needs to dry gently and slowly, and this date ensures that students will have time to finish, bisk, and glaze their pieces before the end of session. It is generally 3 weeks before the last open studio date of a session. Students are welcome to trim, add handles, decorate with slip, and other methods of altering to pieces after this date, but should not begin new projects.

• Final Bisk Day: This is the final day that we will be bisk firing work in time for it to be glazed before the end of the session. Work must be BONE DRY ON THE BISK SHELF by this date, or may not be able to be finished.

These are general dates for everyone to follow, but certain classes may have different dates, which will be communicated by your instructor.

Firing: It is our goal to provide the best firing possible, with that in mind please be aware that the proper and careful firing of work is an involved and time intensive process. Bisk kilns often take 20 hours to fire, and 15 hours to cool, not including the time it takes to unload and load the kilns. Glaze kilns can take 3 to 4 days to load, fire, and unload. Kilns are only fired when full. The work that goes into a kiln is selected by size and shape, much like a puzzle, to make efficient use of kiln space. Odd sized work may take more than one cycle to be fired. Please be patient, your work will be fired. Please check the white board on the kiln room door for up to date firing information.

Kiln Room: Students are not permitted in the kiln room without express permission or accompaniment by staff.

Glazing: Make sure you understand all glazing procedures, including proper application, clean up of pieces (clean your bottoms!), and correct shelf placement (cone 6 or cone 10 at Moss) when glazing. Feel free to ask a community member, instructor, or studio manager for advice.

• Glazes are maintained by artists in residence. Students should never add water, mix new, or modify any glazes. If you notice something off with a glaze, please make a staff member aware and/or write a note on the chalk or whiteboard.

• Glaze combinations can be risky - when testing a new combination be sure to only combine 2 glazes at the lip or top of your piece, as some combinations can run and cause your piece to stick to the shelf.

• Glaze should have ¼” clearance from the bottom of your piece.

• Glaze palettes are subject to change.

• Outside glazes are not permitted without express permission from staff.

Clean-up

Clean up is the responsibility of the student both after class and Open Studio. Drips of clay, trimmings and glaze drips all contain Silica. Prolonged exposure to Silica Dust is a health concern for faculty and staff. Please do your part to minimize this by using wet clean-up methods.

No Clay Down the Sinks!!! Clay down the sink can cause major issues to our plumbing and drainage systems. To avoid this, please use a bucket of water and a sponge to clean all tools and your wheel, then dump your bucket in our reclaim bins.

Wheels & Wheel Area: Turn off your wheel when you are done using it. Sponge-clean your wheel (this includes sides and legs) and the area around your wheel including the floor, the work table between the rows of wheels, your stool (placed up-side down on the cleaned wheel) and splash pan.

Tables and Surfaces Wipe up all tables and surfaces you have used, including shelf between rows of wheels, glazing table, wheels, work tables, slab roller.

Sinks The sinks need to be well cleaned at the end of each class or open studio time. This includes removing all stray clay particles, wiping down the sides of the sink, and thoroughly cleaning and stacking water buckets.

Wedging Tables Scrape all clay off of the table and cutting wire, reclaim clay in reclaim bucket. Sponge down the wedging table only at the end of each class or open studio period.

Bats & Ware boards All bats and ware boards must be cleaned and returned to their homes. Do not leave bats/boards to drip dry in sink drainers. As soon as your work is dry enough to remove from bats, consolidate as many pieces onto one board for storage.

Floors Please use a wet sponge mop to wipe up floors around your work area. The particulate matter in dry clay dust is harmful to everyone’ health!

Chairs and Stools must be placed inverted on the potter’s wheel or table area they are assigned to. The student must then examine the floor area that has been their work area, and clean up any splatter, or clay scraps.

Please contact your instructor at their @schoolofservice email address, or the studio manager at Clay@schoolofservice.org with any questions or concerns. Thank you!