Featherstone is a community pottery studio, our goal is to provide a sanctuary for people to be, to create, and to feel safe and comfortable.
To make that possible, everyone must follow the studio policies.
Pottery Studio Etiquette
The Featherstone Pottery Studio is a shared space. Always be respectful of others trying to work.
Featherstone asks that you do not use equipment you have not been trained to use. Ask instructors for demos and have a clear understanding of the equipment before using it on your own or during Open Studio hours.
Please be respectful and courteous to others - if you accidentally damage someone else’s work, leave a note.
Refrain from prolonged cell phone conversations or playing music too loud in the studio while others are working.
No smoking inside the studio or near entrances or open windows.
Fully fired work must be picked up no later than 90 days after glaze firing, after which point the work will be discarded. Work that has not been glazed by the last class must be finished during open studio hours within 2 weeks of classes ending unless other arrangements have been made.
After a period of 90 days unfinished work left by students will be discarded or recycled unless prior arrangements have been made.
Studio towels are for drying CLEAN hands only. If your throwing technique requires the use of a towel that will become soiled with clay, please bring your own and take it with you for washing.
Sponges are provided for clean-up.
Inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated. This includes intoxication, harassment of any kind, discrimination, and disrespecting others.
Please do not 'drop in' to classes you are not enrolled in to finish up work or use as open studio time.
Open Studio
Open Studio participants must have prior experience using a pottery wheel, if they wish to use a wheel at Featherstone.
Open Studio participants will need to fill out the sign in sheet when entering the studio, even if they have already registered online. We ask that you sign in legibly to avoid any confusion.
Please begin cleaning up your workspace at least 15 minutes prior to the end of studio or class time.
Clay
Any clay used at Featherstone must be purchased from the studio- no outside clays will be permitted.
Clay must be thoroughly covered with plastic to keep it from drying out. This applies to works in progress and moist clay.
All work must be less than the thickness than a thumb (about 1 inch) to be fired.
Clay storage is provided in the studio. Please store clay neatly on the shelf, with your name and the date on of purchase written on the bag. Do not randomly place bags of clay in the storage area.
Works in progress can dry on your designated class shelf or on the open studio shelves until ready to be bisque fired. Your work must be at the bone dry stage to be fired
Mark all work with your initials or an identifying mark before placing it on the greenware shelf.
The clay storage room is for Staff only.
Glazing
Glaze should stay in the glaze area. Please wash glaze tools in the sink in the glaze area after use and return them to their proper place.
All users must glaze responsibly.
Stir glazes thoroughly before use.
Do not leave glaze buckets open. Make sure to return any unused glaze to the proper container and put lids back on all glaze buckets.
If you do wish to paint glaze in the main studio, you will need to cover your work surface with newspaper to prevent glaze from spilling on the fabric lined tables.
Absolutely no sanding inside. If a piece should require sanding, please do so outside. Silica dust is dangerous to breath, so this is for everyone’s safety.
In order to avoid mishaps during firing, we ask that you always use Wax Resist on the bottoms of your pieces and wipe off any traces of glaze from the bottoms before putting them on the shelf to be fired.
Pieces that are not properly cleaned might may be loaded into the kiln.
Please place your work on the shelf the way it should be placed in the kiln. If you have any special firing requests, please leave a note with your work.
Let an instructor or studio staff know if glazes seem too thick or the quantities are getting low. Never add water to any glaze on your own.
Firing
Unless a firing fee is included with your class, Featherstone requires all potters to correctly fill out a firing fee form and pay the charge at the greenware stage. Without this, work will not be fired. Your instructor or the Studio Staff will be happy to explain the process to you.
We do our best to safely handle and fire all students and member work successfully & efficiently. We will always do our best to load the kilns fairly but cannot guarantee work will be fired on any given day.
Only Featherstone Employees will load, unload, open, close, remove any work from or operate the kilns.
Please load your bisqueware and glaze work from the back of the shelf forward to prevent accidently knocking and damaging other people’s work.
Please do not touch or move work that is not your own. If there is no room on a shelf, ask an instructor or studio staff for assistance.
Remember, Pottery is risky. While we do our best to ensure your work is completed to your satisfaction- there always exists a chance of something happening that could result in work being ruined, either by a kiln malfunction, work being too thick or by someone accidentally knocking a piece off a shelf.
Clean Up
Everyone using the studio must clean up after themselves. This includes:
Picking up and properly disposing of clay scraps.
Wiping clean any surfaces you were using with a sponge (wheel, worktable, plaster bats, wedging table, etc.).
Cleaning and putting all tools away in their proper place. If you are unsure where something goes, please ask your instructor or the Studio Staff.
With a sponge or mop, spot cleaning the floor around where you were working.
After glazing, cleaning off all glaze residue from surfaces in the Glaze Room (including the floor), table, brushes, whisks and other tools.
Washing off Wax Brushes with dish soap to remove any remaining wax.
Rinsing out sponges before putting them away.
As a reminder, Students and Open Studio participants must stop work at least 15 minutes prior to the end of class/open studio to clean up before the class or open studio time is scheduled to end.
The goal is to always leave the studio cleaner than you found it.
Classes
New classes are made available to current students who would like to continue on to the next session before being made available to new students.
There are no make-up classes. If an instructor needs to cancel, we will reschedule the class, but we cannot accommodate students missing class due to illness.
FEATHERSTONE THANKS YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION IN MAKING OUR POTTERY STUDIO A CLEAN, WELCOMING AND SAFE SPACE!