Orientation

Please read through the orientation and ask the corresponding committee chair if you have any questions!

 

Clean Up After Yourself!

Clean up your own mess and put away any tools and bats you’ve used. Mop or sponge the floor if glazes or wet clay have dripped. Also wipe down the wedging table if you have used it. Avoid stirring dust, which is harmful to breathe — don’t sweep! Use a wet sponge or cloth to clean up. CUPC tools and supplies are available in the studio for everyone, so please return these after cleaning them.

Club Etiquette

Be courteous to other club members. Concerns regarding the studio facilities or other club members should be brought to the attention of the appropriate committee chair. If there is an immediate concern with plumbing, the kiln, or any other safety matter please bring it to the attention of the president and notify club members via the list.

Be respectful of other members’ need to concentrate on their work. This is a social club, but some members prefer to work in silence and many are limited as to how much studio time they can afford themselves each week. Don’t touch or move other people’s work without permission.

 

Club Meetings

Members are encouraged to attend all general meetings of the club. At a minimum, members must attend the first meeting of every term and one additional general meeting during each term. Members who will be absent from a general meeting must contact their committee chairs to let them know in advance.

Committee Work

You should average no less than two hours per month. Make sure you log all the work you do so others are aware and repeat work is avoided. Members who don’t fulfill their committee-work obligations may not be allowed to return the following term (warnings are given out by the committee chairs). Contact your committee chair to make arrangements if you are traveling, sick, or otherwise unable to perform your duties.

 

Clay Recycling

Clay that is damp but not liquid can be dried on a plaster disk and then wedged and returned to the clay bins. Dry or liquid clay should be recycled: keep red and white clays separate. Break up dry clay pieces until they are small (less than 1 inch) and put them into the appropriate dry bucket. Screen liquid clay into the appropriate wet recycling bucket. Clay is cheap, so don’t put contaminated raw clay into recycling buckets—throw it in the trash if there is any doubt. Unwanted fired pieces (bisqueware) cannot be recycled as raw clay.

Glazing

Stir glazes well before use. Wipe back your dipped pieces along the base. Don’t contaminate glazes by double-dipping without drying in between. Clean drips of glaze that spill on the floor. Be sure to wear gloves—toxic components can be small enough to enter your bloodstream through skin abrasions.

Bisque Shelves

Put trimmed items that are bone-dry on the upper shelves. If still damp, place on your shelf in the basement. Your bisque-fired pieces are placed on the bisque shelves. Please claim them promptly so there is room for the next batch from the kiln.

 

Glaze Cabinet

Put items in where they will fit, starting with the top shelves. Do not touch other members’ items. If there is any risk of your glaze running, put your piece on a cookie. The firing committee will reject any pieces with glaze that is applied too thick; you will find these on the top shelf above the bisque shelves. Only members of the firing committee are authorized to load, unload and open the kilns. Your glaze-fired pieces will be placed either on your shelf or on the unclaimed bisque-ware shelf.

Donations Shelf

Each member must donate three pieces per term or ten percent of their total output, whichever is greater. We ask for donations that are representative of your ability, not just the pieces that didn’t turn out the way you liked (though we’ll take those, too, if they are sellable). We will not accept pieces that are cracked, damaged, or have substantial glaze faults.