Policies

The ARTS Center

Ceramics Studio Guidelines

 

Open Studio (OS) Time

TAC provides both monitored and non-monitored OS time. Times and dates for OS, monitored and unmonitored, are subject to change due to class schedules or special events, but in general we will follow the schedules below:

Monitored

Tuesday: 11am – 2pm – assigned monitor:  Meredith Walker, 864-608-8121, wmeredi@gmail.com  (no Tuesday OS during summer camp sessions). 

Wednesday:  6 pm – 9 pm  - assigned monitor:  Susan Clay, 864-986-9422, claysus@gmail.com.

Sunday: 2 pm-5 pm- assigned monitor: Mindy Spearman, 864-650-1367, mjspear@clemson.edu.

Substitute Monitors:
Judi Bucci, 864-209-9757, naturesclay@mindspring.com
Deborah Girard, xenadeb2u@gmail.com
Nancy Spitler, 864-297-2128, nancyspitler@gmail.com

Payment for monitored OS is due at the beginning of each work session. Fill out a studio slip and give it plus your payment to the monitor. If you purchase clay, include that payment on the same slip.

Instruction is not provided during OS time; you are expected to work independently. But if a problem arises concerning the studio materials or equipment, or if you have an incidental question about something, bring it to the monitor’s attention. 

Studio glazes, underglazes, slips, washes, wax, etc., are available for your use; studio tools are intended primarily for classes. Plan to bring your own tools to OS.  

Arrive promptly at the beginning of monitored OS, or let the monitor know if you will be late. Monitors may close the studio and leave if no one arrives after 20 minutes.  

Non-monitored:

Monday – Thursday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (allowing clean-up time so that you leave by 5 p.m. when TAC closes)

Friday: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. (allowing clean-up time so that you leave by 2 p.m. when TAC closes)

Notes: (a) During Summer Camp, non-monitored OS hours will not be available.

(b) Tuesday and Thursday hours are subject to change whenever daytime classes are scheduled.

Please sign in your arrival and departure on the sheet by the office window each time you come. If you need to purchase clay, fill out a studio slip (available in the clay studio) and give it to one of the office staff who will assist you. You will be billed monthly for your studio use, purchase of clay, and firing charges.

If a problem arises concerning the studio materials or equipment, bring it to the attention of an office staff member.

Studio glazes, underglazes, slips, washes, wax, etc., are available for your use; studio tools are intended primarily for classes. Plan to bring your own tools to OS.

General Studio Info  

·   The ceramics studio is available to current or former TAC students. All will be asked to complete an Experience Assessment form so we can learn more about your progress in ceramics. Other potters who complete an Experience Assessment form and are approved by the Executive Director are also welcome.

·    Participants must be over 16 years of age.

·    Children are not allowed in the studio or any other TAC areas during Open   Studio times unless they are in a class. 

·    Open Studio does not include technical instruction.  Students must be able to work safely and independently in the studio. 

·        Open Studios participants must provide their email address and telephone number to studio monitors. The studio maintains a blog [http://tacclay.blogspot.com/] for dissemination of important studio news, updates, policy postings, etc., and a private Facebook page. Open Studio participants are expected to subscribe to the blog and check it regularly for essential studio news. If you want to join the Facebook page, send a request to a monitor.

Fees and Costs

·    The monitored OS fee is $12.00 per visit for TAC members, and $15.00 for non-members, which covers up to three hours of studio time. The monthly non-monitored OS fee, available to TAC members only, is $35, which allows attendance during all open hours, including monitored hours.

·    A firing fee for OS participants based on measurements of pieces will be charged at $.03 per cubic inch, with a two-inch minimum cost. Beyond the two inches, measurements will be rounded up or down to the nearest inch. The one fee includes both bisque and glaze firing, as well as glaze.

·    Cone 6 clay is available for purchase from TAC for $15.00 a bag.  

·    OS fees and costs for monitored studio participants are payable at each visit; firing fees are billed monthly. All fees and costs for non-monitored studio participants will be billed at the end of each month, based on studio firing slips and any clay-purchase slips filled out at each visit to the studio.  

·    OS fees are waived for studio monitors on their scheduled days, and firing of their pieces will be at a 50% discount. Fees are also waived for substitute monitors on their scheduled days, and after four days’ substituting, their firing charges will be at a 50% discount. Monitors and subs pay full price for clay.  

Studio Rules

·        Due to health and safety concerns, food is not permitted in the studio, and only beverages in a closed container are permitted. If you bring food, store it at the TAC café (you may use the refrigerator), and when you wish to eat, go to the café to do so.

·     The ceramics studio is not to be used as a production studio. 

·     TAC is not responsible for any pieces that are broken or damaged at the Center. 

·     TAC reserves the right to terminate participation in Open Studio for behavior considered harmful to other students, equipment, or the studio, or for chronic non-adherence to studio rules.

·    Due to limited storage space, Open Studio participants may not leave personal items, tools, or decorating materials in the studio. 

·     A bag of clay labeled with your name and the date opened may be left in cubbies under the counter labeled for OS.   

·    Clay left unused in cubbies for more than 6 weeks (unless with prior arrangement) will become the property of TAC and may be used for student instruction. 

Equipment and Materials

·    Students and OS participants may not handle the kiln, mix glazes, or add water to glazes. Only instructors or studio monitors are allowed to load, unload, and/or fire the TAC kiln, or mix/modify glazes. 

·    Glaze and equipment training will be provided in small groups as needed before studio participants begin glazing or using the equipment.   

·    The only glazes used in the studio are those provided by instructors or those mixed by studio monitors (except for low-fire paint-on glazes for children’s classes, all are Cone 6). To prevent contamination of studio glazes, no “self-mixed” glazes can be brought to the studio, and no pieces glazed outside of TAC may be “double-dipped” in the studio glazes. All outside glazes must be Cone 6, and OS participants are responsible for any potential problems with them.

·    Studio members’ work produced outside TAC may be fired in TAC kilns only with prior approval from monitors.

·    Only clay approved by TAC may be used in the studio. Cone 6 clay is available for purchase at $15.00 a bag. We usually stock Highwater’s Desert Buff and Speckled Brownstone. 

Kiln Firing

·    Pieces created during scheduled class time will have first priority for kiln firing.  OS work may be fired with class work at the discretion of current class instructors when space permits. Otherwise, OS and outside pieces will be fired as kiln space becomes available. 

·    All pieces placed on shelves for bisque or glaze firing must be measured, and must contain a pricing form filled out by the potter identifying each piece and its dimensions. No form, no firing.  

·    Be sure to shelve your work correctly as to whether it is: “Ready to Bisque” or “Ready to Glaze.” “Work in Progress” is for pieces awaiting trimming or glazing. Stack such pieces to save space, and complete each stage of production as soon as possible.   

·    OS participants must ensure that their pieces are ready for firing. Pieces must be properly glazed and all glaze wiped from bottom. Greenware may be put on the “Ready to Bisque” shelf if still slightly damp as long as it has been trimmed; monitors will judge when dry enough to fire. Monitors will not fire any pots judged unsuitable. 

·    Pots must have sufficient bottom margins so that glaze is unlikely to run onto the shelf (minimum ¼”). Fifty cents is charged for a small glaze drip. The cost for multiple glaze drips or those that eat into the shelf will be determined on a case-by-case basis, up to the full replacement cost of a shelf.

·    Subject to the firing schedule, personal kiln use for a whole kiln is available (for studio members only) for a $75 fee. TAC is not responsible for any pieces that are broken or damaged while at the center or during the firing process.    

·    Pick up fired work promptly. Pieces will be dated when removed from the kiln and must be retrieved or progressed to the next production stage within 2 weeks (unless prior arrangements are made). Leftovers become the property of the studio and may be used as judged appropriate.

Clean Up

·        OS participants are to clean up their work areas before they leave the studio. Please be respectful of the monitors’ schedules, and allow yourself sufficient clean-up time so that you leave the studio at the end of the scheduled time.

·    The clean-up procedures and guidelines are posted in the studio.  They are as follows:

· Be sure your wheel is turned off. 

· Clean wheel, splash pan, and floor around your wheel with one of the large sponges.

· Put the clean splash pan back in place on the wheel. Put the stool upside down on the wheelhead.

· Clean your throwing bucket and replace under sink.

· Clean sink and counter top.

· If you used any studio tools, clean, dry, and replace them.

· Tightly close and put away any glazes, underglazes, washes, etc., you have used.

· Put away your unused clay.

· Thoroughly sponge tops of work tables and the wedging table if you used them. If you used a plastic tablecloth for glazing, wipe, fold, and replace it on studio shelves.

·  Take all personal property home with you, including all tools, aprons, molds, slips, washes, etc.

· Rinse out towels belonging to the studio; drape them on upturned stools so they will dry.

August 2013