More Information on Classes
Class Supplies
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People must have their own clay and tools, which can be purchased here in Medicine Hat at Plainsman Clays Ltd (702 Wood St SE, tel. (403) 527-8535, Plainsman Clays).
The clay must be mid-fire cone 6 white clay, such as 'Plainsman M340 Smooth buff burning stoneware' (Plainsman’s most popular clay body). If you do not have any tools Plainsman sells a tool starter kit that has everything you need for $45 ('Kemper PTK Pottery Tool Kit'). If you're attending with a buddy, you can share a box of clay, but you will need to bring your own tools. *Please let me know if you’d prefer to purchase the supplies from me when you pay for the class. This could be an advantage if you’re booking a shorter class as you could purchase the clay by the 22 lb. bag from me, whereas you’d need to buy a whole box that contains 2 bags (44 lb. of clay) from Plainsman. I recommend that you wear clothing that you do not mind getting messy, or to bring an apron. I also suggest that you trim your finger nails, as unfortunately long nails cut through clay and make throwing pots very difficult. |
Plainsman M340 Smooth buff burning stoneware
Kemper PTK Pottery Tool Kit
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Studio Operations
I will provide space at my studio for your work and for you to store your clay while the course is running. I will fire all of the participant’s work in my kiln. All pottery made will need to be fired twice, with the following procedure:
Creation will be stopped 15 minutes before the end of the session to accommodate time for clean-up. Each participant must clean their wheel, work spaces and their tools at the end of each lesson. All wheel work must be safety stored on the appropriate shelves. Participants must cover their wet, just-thrown work with a plastic sheet provided to prevent the clay from drying too quickly. Clay that dries too fast has a high probability of cracking and cannot be trimmed and properly finished the following class.
- When the pots are completely dry the pots will be first bisque fired to a temperature of about 1826°F, which takes about 10 hrs., and then must cool slowly in the kiln for at least 24 hrs. This process hardens the clay ready for glazing;
- I will provide you with the use of a selection of glazes to decorate your pottery;
- the pots will then go back into the kiln to be glaze-fired to a temperature of 2250° F, which takes around 12 hrs. and requires at least 36 hrs. to cool.
Creation will be stopped 15 minutes before the end of the session to accommodate time for clean-up. Each participant must clean their wheel, work spaces and their tools at the end of each lesson. All wheel work must be safety stored on the appropriate shelves. Participants must cover their wet, just-thrown work with a plastic sheet provided to prevent the clay from drying too quickly. Clay that dries too fast has a high probability of cracking and cannot be trimmed and properly finished the following class.
