Ceramic Studio Guidelines

The following guidelines are in place to provide you with the best experience possible.

Rosewood Arts Center is dedicated to enriching the quality of life for residents of Kettering and the greater Dayton area by providing creative experiences through the arts. Rosewood is proud to be one of the only facilities in the area to allow public access to our 18 cubic foot reduction kiln and state-of-the-art facilities including slab rollers, extruders, spray booth and cone 6 oxidation kilns. Our ceramics studio consists of 4 separate classrooms, all equipped to accommodate several patrons at once.

Ceramics Studio Guidelines

• Sign-in is required at the front desk each time you visit the studio, even if you are only picking up work or personal belongings.
• Sign out is required at the front desk when you leave.
• Only registered participants, instructors, and staff are permitted in the ceramics studios while a class is in-session. Students may only be enrolled in one wheel pottery or handbuilding class at a time. Students may enroll in one wheel pottery class and one handbuilding class simultaneously.
• Outside work will not be fired.
• Private lessons are prohibited.
• No guests allowed.

Studio Etiquette

Please adhere to all posted guidelines:

• Treat the people, studio and equipment with respect and kindness.
• Never touch another person’s work without their direct permission.
• Please clean up after yourself and leave the studio cleaner than you found it.
• Budget at least 15 minutes for clean-up time.
• Put all materials and equipment back where you found them.
• All studio users must be cleaned up and out of the studio before the facility closes.
• Footwear is required at all times when working in the studio.
• With the exception of service animals, no pets are allowed in the studio.
• Bisque return shelves are not for storage, please claim your items as soon as they return from the kiln.
• Keep work moving and don’t allow it to pile-up on the return shelves.
• Production pottery is not permitted and will not be fired. Please see back page for more details.
• If an injury or emergency occurs, please contact a Rosewood staff member immediately.
• Do not store works-in-progress on Rosewood bats. Please use ware boards.
• Only store belongings in an assigned cubby or locker. Items stored elsewhere will be discarded.
• Do not hesitate to contact Rosewood’s staff with any questions or concerns. We are here to help!

Tools and Storage

Tools

Patrons should bring their own hand building and throwing tools. Small tools are not provided by Rosewood. For a list of provided tools and equipment see Equipment and Studio Amenities section of this booklet.

All Cubbies

Only Rosewood Arts Center Staff may assign or relocate cubbies. The valid cubby tag assigned by staff must be displayed at all times. Clay tools and works in progress may only be stored in an assigned cubby. It is the Patron’s responsibility to manage their cubby storage, plan accordingly.

Open Studio Cubbies

Open Studio Cubbies are free of Charge, available on a first come-first serve basis and are not guaranteed. Only one cubby per person. Open Studio Cubby renewals must be done in person, by the person the cubby is assigned to. Open Studio Users must be an “active” user, meaning they must make no fewer than two paid studio visits per month

Open Studio Cubbies and Registering for Classes

Students who are registered in an 8-week ceramics class with an assigned personal class cubby may not have an open studio cubby. Open studio users who are registered in an upcoming 8-week class must relocate their items to their class cubby as soon as it becomes available but no later than the first day of their class. Students in workshops and special topics ceramics classes may have an open studio cubby.

Class Cubbies

Only one cubby may be assigned per person. (Unless in multiple qualifying ceramics classes). Students must clear out of their class cubbies immediately after their class ends unless they are enrolled in an upcoming class on the same day at the same time. Plan Accordingly.

Lockers

Lockers are rented for a small fee on a 6 or 12-month basis. Lockers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Do not over-fill lockers. Check with front desk staff regarding the availability of lockers.

Disposal

The ceramics studios are purged multiple times per year. Any items not stored in a proper location are subject to disposal; this includes items left on bisque and glaze return shelves. Items left in open studio cubbies are subject to disposal the day following the expiration date. Items left in class cubbies are subject to disposal the day after class ends. Items stored on Rosewood studios bats will be discarded. All items left on return shelves longer than 30 days will be considered abandoned and are subject to disposal or considered a donation. Any items found stored in unassigned cubbies or on top of cubbies will be discarded. Rosewood Arts Center is not a storage facility.

Breakage, Loss and Theft

Rosewood Arts Center is not responsible for the loss or damage of work or personal property. Thefts are rare, but to minimize the risk of theft, do not leave personal items out and unattended in the studios. Lock them up or take them with you. Breakage can be minimized by not touching or handling the work of others. If such handling is unavoidable, please handle the work of others with the utmost care. If accidental breakage happens, please notify Rosewood staff and leave a note with the broken item. Please handle these situations graciously as accidents do happen.

Glazes

Never thin or adjust studio glazes. Bottled commercial glazes can be used. Home-mixed glazes are not permitted. If you need to thin a glaze for use in the studio spray booth, use a separate small container and discard any excess during clean-up. Do not dump it back into the glaze bucket. If you have concerns about a glaze or any other studio materials or equipment, please contact the Ceramic Facilities Coordinator. Please observe the correct shelves to place work for bisque and glaze firings. Work that is not on the correct shelves runs the risk of being overlooked. Please allow 1/8 inch of bare clay between the foot and glaze.

Kilns and Firing

Due to the size of the kilns, no work should exceed 15 inches in any direction. This leaves room for kiln posts and other people’s work. Work that is too large will not be fired.

Anything deemed production pottery will not be fired. Unsigned pieces will not be fired. Obvious or suspected paraphernalia will not be fired.
Any work made outside of Rosewood will not be fired.

Firing updates will be noted on the whiteboard by the kiln room and in our Facebook group Rosewood Clay.
Please regularly check the return shelves and keep work moving out of the studio as it is finished. Work left for more than 30 days will be discarded or considered a donation to Rosewood Arts Center.

Please note: this applies to both work in progress and finished work.

Abandoned personal belongings are subject to disposal as well. Average turn-around time for bisque and glaze firings is three weeks.

Open Studio Visits

The ceramics studio is available to anyone who has completed an 8-week ceramics class at Rosewood within the last three years. Completion of a ceramics studio orientation and survey is required for everyone prior to drop-in use.

Pottery wheels, slab rollers and other equipment are both delicate and potentially hazardous. Exercise caution to avoid breakage, accidents and injury. All studio users should be able to safely work in the studios independently. Open studio users must be able to take their pieces through the entire process (all the way from wet clay to finished glazed pieces) without the aid of a teacher. A separate process is required for use of the reduction kiln. Please consult the office staff or the Ceramic Studio Coordinator to schedule an orientation.

Equipment and Studio Amenities

• Slab rollers, rolling pins
• Wareboards and bats
• Glazes, tongs, wax, spray booth and clean up sponges
• Extruders
• Electric kilns (cone 6)
• Reduction kiln (cone 10)

Ceramics Open Studio Fees

Single drop-in visit: $10/Kettering resident; $15/non-resident
Ten-visit discount card: $80/Kettering resident; $120/non-resident

Locker Fees

6 month rental: $35/Kettering resident; $45/nonresident
12 month rental: $60/Kettering resident; $75/nonresident

Items Available for Purchase

• Clay: 25 lb bag; variety of cone 6 and cone 10 clay bodies available
• Recycled Clay: 25lb bag; cone 6 only; reduced cost
• Pottery tool kits.
• 12 inch bats.

Please see the Rosewood front desk for full inventory, availability and current pricing.

Production Pottery

Production pottery is prohibited at Rosewood. Production pottery is defined as a large and consistent volume of ceramic pieces produced often with the intent to be sold routinely in a festival, retail or gallery setting, or created on commission. Suspected cases of production pottery will be addressed discretely and individually by the Ceramics Studio Coordinator. Anything deemed production pottery will not be fired. Rosewood is a community arts facility with a focus on educational programs and low-volume recreational drop-in use. Rosewood is not equipped to support large-scale private enterprise. If you have questions about production pottery, please contact the Ceramics Studio Coordinator.

While an exact quantification varies based on size, number and weight, below are some helpful images and approximate measurements to help gauge whether or not a studio user’s output is appropriate:

Cumulative size: equal to or less than 1 cubic foot per 2 weeks
Cumulative weight: equal to or less than 15 pounds per 2 weeks