OPEN STUDIO POTTER’S HANDBOOK
Thank you for your interest in joining LOAM as a Studio Member. Our mission is to create a space where potters at all stages of their practice can find a studio to continue growing and building their talent, which in turn leads to a fertile community focused on collaboration.
OUR IDEAL MEMBER:
To ensure that the studio is a fantastic place to work for everyone we select new members with great care. We are looking for people who share the same values as LOAM specifically with a focus on;
Thoughtful Making: Many of us come to love pottery for the positive impact it has on our wellness. We aim to honour the craft by enjoying the process, not just the outcomes. We lean into the patience needed to refine our skills, upholding values of fine craftsmanship and artistry, and produce quality work.
Sustainability: It is increasingly apparent our actions are having a dramatic effect on the planet. We prioritise implementing practices that help reduce the environmental impact, focusing on quality over quantity.
Inclusive Community: It is through sharing our diverse experiences that we all grow and expand innovation. We aim to preserve a positive and safe space where people with different perspectives, backgrounds and paths in life come together to share, support and encourage each other's creative pursuits.
Growth Mindset:LOAM hopes to support our local pottery lovers at every stage of the learning process.No matter what skill level or stage in their practice they are at when they join, they share a goal of continuing to improve and get better.
LOAM is a space where we want everyone to feel welcome, safe and that they belong. We have a zero tolerance policy for any comments or behaviour that would be considered discriminatory in nature or would reasonably lead to someone feeling uncomfortable. Please treat everyone with respect. Do not use offensive, hostile, intimidating, insensitive or vulgar language. This includes gossiping about other members or staff. Any disrespect, harm, or harassment will not be tolerated.
These guidelines will help us to maintain a kind efficient, thoughtful, clean and safe working space for all our members, students and staff.
STUDIO POTTER ETIQUETTE
CLEANLINESS, HEALTH & SAFETY
DO NOT GO INTO THE KILN ROOM OR GLAZE KITCHEN. THESE AREAS FOR STAFF ONLY.
Dust is the biggest health hazard when working with clay, silica is one of the ingredients in clay and glazes that could cause health problems if inhaled over an extended period of time. For this reason,cleanliness is a crucial and required part of the pottery making process and we ask that our members do their part to keep the studio tidy and safe. If we all do our part it is much easier to maintain. Our members are expected to clean up after themselves.
We recommend leaving 15-20 minutes at the end of your session to tidy your work space. A cleaning checklist is provided to outline all cleaning points that need to be hit. Please thoroughly clean your work area and any communal tools you might have used. That includes the table(s) surrounding your wheel station as well as the floor around your wheel. Put away tools/ plastic/ batts/ newspaper when your session is finished. Any batt pins which were used should be thoroughly cleaned before being put away.
Failure to fully clean your work space will result in a cleaning charge being applied to your account which equals 1 hour from your open studio package for hourly members and a $18 + tax charge to 1 and 3 shelf renters.
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CLEAN-UP CHECKLIST We recommend leaving 15-20 minutes at the end of your session for full clean-up |
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Wedging Table |
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Wipe wedging table well after every use |
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Wheel (Throwing/Trimming) |
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Wipe down wheel head, table, pedal and side tables |
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Collect trimmings with water |
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Wash tray in slop bucket |
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Rinse tray in rinse bucket |
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Final tray rinse in sink |
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Wipe down stool |
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Place stool seat side up (so the seat can dry) |
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Place pedal on wheel table |
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Mop floor surrounding wheel |
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Turn off wheel |
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Remove and clean batt pins, return them to their spot |
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Handbuilding |
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Wipe down all shared resources, ie the slab roller, banding wheel, textures |
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Wipe down work table including ware boards |
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Mop floor surrounding your work space, if there are trimmings please use the designated floor sponge |
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Glazing |
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Rinse tongs and paddles in glaze reclaim bucket 1st then a final rinse in the sink |
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Return tongs and paddles to their designated spots. Please, do not leave in rinse bucket |
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Return small and large rinse buckets to their designated spots |
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Ensure all glaze tags are facing out |
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Paint brushes & sponge used for wax: soak in warm, soapy water, rinse thoroughly and return to designated spot |
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Paint brushes, sponges, carpets etc used for glazing: rinse thoroughly and return to designated spot |
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Mop up any spillage from the floor & wipe the buckets |
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Garbage and recycling (other than clay)
There is 1 garbage bin, 1 compost bin and 2 recycling bins in the studio one for paper and one for cans and plastic as per Ottawa recycling bylaws. Things going in the recycling bin need to be rinsed/cleaned before they are discarded. DO NOT recycle paper full of clay or glaze.
Sanding & Dust
All clean-up should be wet-based. Tables and other work surfaces wiped with a wet sponge and continually rinsed, floors wet-mopped. Please avoid sweeping or dusting dried clay.We aim to keep the studio dust free.
Please do all sanding of greenware and bisque ware OUTSIDE, away from the door so the wind won’t bring dust back into the studio.Please sand near the fence at the bottom of the parking lot.
Glaze dust is also hazardous so please be aware when glazing not to blow glaze dust into the air.
We mop the floors rather than sweep to avoid putting dust into the air.
Cleaning
Please thoroughly clean your work area and any communal tools you might have used. That includes the table in front of your wheel station as well as the floor around your wheel. Put away tools/ plastic/ batts/ newspaper when your session is finished. Any batt pins which were used should be thoroughly cleaned before being put away.
Failure to fully clean your work space will result in a cleaning charge being applied to your account which equals 1 hour from your open studio package for hourly members and a $18 + tax charge to 1 and 3 shelf renters.
Slop Buckets
If you wish to keep your own slop and trimmings to recycle you should put it in an empty clay bag or in your own bucket and leave it in your locker or take it home.
There are communal clay slop buckets on the floor. Please use those buckets to clean your wheel pans and tools first in the “Mixed Clay Recycle” bucket and finish using the “Rinse” Bucket. Please try to catch any pin tools, sponges, ribs etc. before they are added to the slop buckets. Our goal is to reduce water consumption as much as possible.
The slop buckets are for your wheel slop, trimmings or other clay either too dry or too wet to use that you do not wish to recycle yourself. All clay left in these buckets will be recycled and are for studio use.
There is also a glaze rinse bucket which should be used to rinse glaze tools (stir sticks, tongs etc.). The glaze that accumulates in this bucket gets recycled.
OPEN STUDIO MEMBERSHIP
LOAM offers open studio space for rent to individuals with enough experience to work independently, we require new members to have completed 3, 6 week classes at LOAM. This is to ensure that you have a great experience working in our space as our staff are busy keeping the studio running and are often not available to answer questions or provide guidance.
We currently have two types of open studio memberships, hourly and 1 shelf rental.
For ourhourly studio potters, you are able to purchase hours 1 at a time or in packages up to 50, the more hours you buy the less expensive your hours will be! It is also important to note:
For our1 shelf potters, this allows for more flexibility in having your own designated space to keep your work and allows you unlimited hours per month! If you are looking to join our waitlist for 1 shelf, please e-mailinfo@loamclaystudio.ca to request this membership type. You will be placed on the waitlist appropriately based on how your values and making style matches ours. Priority will be given to members currently working on an hourly basis who are demonstrating adherence to our Member Handbook consistently.
Some additional information:
We welcome potters at all levels of ability and aim to facilitate individual creative growth. Some past members have gone on to become a valued part of our LOAM teaching team; other members have outgrown our facilities and have started ceramic businesses of their own. Although we’re glad to see studio members become skilled enough to start focusing on production, we unfortunately can’t accommodate this.
PRODUCTION POTTERY:
We do not have the capacity to support production pottery, our goal as a space is to allow potters to work on growing and improving their skills so they can make beautiful pots but not with the intention of selling at an impactful volume. Our members often participate in a couple of sales each year and would define this as selling their work to support their making vs. making to sell.
Please think of your shelf as being able to house all tools and work-in-progress, including work you are creating that day AND work in the kiln room waiting for bisque and glaze. If you begin to produce more than your shelf can hold or if we see indications of you moving towards production. You may need to reduce your production if you wish to continue to use LOAM’s space. A staff member will approach you in these circumstances to discuss options and always feel comfortable reaching out if you are unsure.
We have been seeing a large volume of cookie cutter ornaments, plates, tiles, coasters and ring dishes coming through the kiln, unfortunately LOAM can't support a high volume of these pieces being made as it creates a bottleneck in our kilns. We have had to implement a maximum of 10 of these items per person, this will be for the holiday season as well as throughout the year.Please note: “Cookie cutter” refers to anything easily reproducible by a template, such as GR Forms and items you are tracing like leaves. Templates do have a place as a jumping off point for your own creative expression; it moves into production when the template becomes the form with a focus on creating multiples.
BOOKING TIME
Session Capacity
Most Open Studio sessions have a capacity that has been set based on available workspaces. If there is a class, workshop or private class the number of Open Studio potters that the studio can accommodate will vary. For workshops and private classes the number of spaces available will vary depending on the type and size of the class/workshop. You can see the availability and capacity online.
MEMBER ACCESS TO TOOLS & RESOURCES
Tools
Open studio potters must bring their own tools. We suggest you label your tools with a sharpie or nail polish as they are often forgotten in the studio. Tools in the class cart are not for Open Studio use.
We also sell a wide range of specialised tools in the studio. Please ask the staff if you need help finding something.
We also ask that you kindly return all items that you have borrowed that are not in use, such as wareboards to ensure all members have access.
What is available for members to use?
Newspaper, plastic for wrapping, boards, batt pins, brushes, wax, textures, foam, sand paper, rolling pins, hump moulds, banding wheels, plastic batts, glaze rugs, scissors, glaze tongs, pens/pencils, pot lifters, ruler, vinegar. When borrowing anything that is kept in a drawer, please ask the staff and we will get it for you. Please notify us once you have return it cleaned after use.
What is not available for member use?
Fiberboard batts, underglaze, slip, transfers, decals, stains, raw material (darvan), sieve, class tools, consumable products, such as tape.
Clay
We carry a selection of clay types, PSH and Tuckers (white, red, black, speckle, granite, raku and porcelain), all cone 6. The price of the clay bought to use at LOAM includes firing and glazes.
LOAM Clay Studio will charge separately for firing any work made outside the studio regardless of where the clay was purchased.
Locker
If you would like a locker please contact us to check for availability. Lockers cost $15/month and must be paid in advance. Clay and tools may only be left in the studio if you have a locker or you are renting your own dedicated shelf or shelves.
If your locker has expired for a month without payment or communication, your locker will be cleared out and will be available for rent. We will try to contact you during this time to see if you would like to keep your locker and make a payment if not remind you to collect your belongings, we will be unable to hold your belongings greater than 30 days after we have reached out.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Work in Progress
Name and date all work in progress stored on the Open Studio shelves with one of thepost-it’s attached on the shelves. Work that is not labelled and dated may be discarded during a routine shelf clean up. The shelves are not for storing clay or tools, only work in progress. Clay and tools left on these shelves will be removed and absorbed into the studio resources. If you need a locker, please ask.
Ware boards that have been painted in red on the edges are not to be used to store your work. These boards are used for classes and need to remain available. You can use them to work on but not to store work. If any such boards are seen being used for storage, your work will be removed and put on a different board. We will not be responsible if your work is damaged in this process.
If you need to use a throwing batt please make sure that you will be able to remove your work from that batt within the next couple of days. These batts are used for classes as well. Do not use them to store your work.
Work in progress shelves are limited. Please do not use them as long-term storage for your bisqued ware.
In the past we asked people to label their work with tape. We found that the tape was ripping the plastic so that it could not then be re-used, so please use the post-its. Post-it notes are stored on the shared studio tool shelf.
Pots that are left on the “open studio” work in progress shelves for over 2 months will be thrown away. Pots that are left in the studio unlabelled will also be thrown away.
FIRING
Ready to Fire
Re-Firing
Re-firing glazed work is NOT recommended as it usually produces worse results. If you wish to re-fire anyway you will be charged. The cost of refiring is $5/lbs.
Pick-up
There is a finite amount of space in the studio so please pick up your work promptly. Work left longer than 1 month on the bisqued pick-up shelf will be discarded. Work left longer than 1 month on the finished pick-up shelf will be discarded or donated.
Using Bead Racks
When making jewellery or beads, you will be required to rent the mini kiln ($25 per firing for members) and bring your own bead rack. We do not have the capacity to include these in our regular firings because of the space they occupy in the kiln.
GLAZING
Using the Glazes
After using the glazes please wipe the bucket and put them back with the tiles facing out so the next person can easily see the glaze colour. Persons found leaving test tiles facing inwards will be executed.
Please rinse glaze off (tongs, stir sticks, hands, pots etc.) in the bucket beside the sink labelled ‘glaze rinse’. We must avoid getting any glaze in the city water system.
The glaze mix that accumulates in this bucket will be recycled.
If you have a lot of pieces to glaze it may be easier to fill an empty bucket with water and put it near your workspace for rinsing. This bucket can then be emptied into the main glaze rinse bucket when you are finished.
Glaze Reporting
If there is anything unusual about the glazes, eg. thinner or thicker than ‘normal’, hard panning or anything else, please let us know.
Sink Area
Avoid washing clay directly down the drain. Please rinse everything first in the slop bucket then in the in the bucket that is in the sink. All the clay is then recycled.
Recycling Clay
If you want to recycle your own clay you can leave your wet clay to dry in one of the plaster batts under the wedging table when one is available. DO NOT USE THE WEDGING TABLE TO RECYCLE OR DRY YOUR CLAY! You should put your name on a piece of paper or tape on the clay just incase you forget to take it with you at the end of the day. Please do not leave reclaimed clay in the studio without you present and any clay left on the batts overnight without a label will be donated to the studio reclaim.