Pottery Classes
In April of 2007, I joined forces with my good friends Charles and Andrea Lasserre to open Studio Art. It is an art studio in which we strive to provide educational and fun art classes of various mediums to the public. For more detailed information on all of our offerings, please visit www.islandstudioart.com.
The classes will be kept fairly small (4-6) in the interest of giving the students plenty of room to work and more personal instruction. I have been teaching now for a few years and am experienced in a variety of techniques.
The classes are open to beginning and intermediate students who want to explore working with clay. Various methods of construction will be shown such as pinch pots, coil and slab building. Wheel throwing will also be explored with an emphasis on making good quality pottery. The only limit is your imagination.
Clay classes run 2 hours each scheduled day. You can come once or go for a 6 week session. Six week sessions can be reserved and include 25 pounds of clay and up to 2000 cubic inches of firing in one of our electric kilns.
Clay policy: In the interest of saving our kilns and your work, only clay purchased at the studio or Atlantic Pottery Supply is allowed in the studio. Past experience has shown that this simple rule eliminates meltdowns and kiln disasters which saves your work and the works of others. A wide variety of clay is available from APS and we will stock a limited supply of our most popular clays.
Firing Policy: Each student gets a maximum of 2000 cubic inches of kiln space each 6 week session. Unused space is not transferable and additional space will be charged at $.05 per cubic inch. No outside work or unknown clay work will ever be fired in our kilns.........no exceptions.
Glazes: A variety of "shop" cone 5-6 glazes will be available for students to use and are included in the firing price. Commercial glazes may be purchased and used as long as it is in it's original container with firing temperatures clearly listed. A test piece/tile is highly recommended before use.
What you need for Class: Students will to bring a medium sized plastic bucket or bowl for water, some basic pottery tools, and your imagination. Buckets and basic tool kits can be purchased at the studio, online, or at Atlantic Pottery. It is suggested that you also bring an old towel, and wear old clothing......you will likely get muddy. There are some tools available for use but be sure and get your own.
The Studio
The studio is equipped with a Brent SR-20 slab roller with the Extruder mounted to it like in the picture. There is also most of a standard extruder die set for use. Every student will be shown how to use this and it is a great tool to further your creative designs.
We currently have a variety of electric pottery wheels to use. Generally there are 4 available for classes due to the current classroom size. The wheels include...
|
2 durable Shimpo RK-10s |
Thomas Stuart Prodigy wheel (2) |
Bailey Pro 50-R |
Brent Model C |
 |
And the original Maxx wheel |
That is a total of 7 wheels. Actually 3 more than I have room
for,
but we plan to expand soon and I am getting prepared for that now.
More pictures of the studio and of the equipment available will be added as we put together the studio. There will be plenty of storage space for works in progress, but tools and personal items must be taken home for safe keeping.
There are 3 electric kilns in the studio. There is a Skutt KM 1027, an L&L J230 and the other is a Good Kiln Mfg. Oval model. Most student work will be fired to cone six (stoneware temp.) in these kilns. Kids work will likely be fired to cone 06 (low fire temp.)