Student Resources
and studio rules
You made it to the Student Resource Page! Nice job. Here you'll find useful info like class logistics and studio rules as well as resources for your artwork.
If you want insider tips on our clays, glazes and loading practices, this is the spot. Did you know that how you place some pots on the ware carts affects how they're loaded into the kiln? Pretty cool.​
Semester Class Info
Clay Usage
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​The winter, spring and fall semesters are 12 weeks and students are given a 65lb clay allotment. The summer semester is 10 weeks and the allotment is 55lbs.
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The Ledger System
Indigo Fire uses a unique system where students record their clay use by weight in a ledger. We feel this system has some great benefits. Students can bounce between our six clay bodies freely, experimenting with porcelain one day and dark stoneware the next. Bagged clay dries out over time, but this isn't a factor because fresh bags of clay are used daily at both studios. There aren't bags of clay on every shelf which reduces dust, and we don't have to deal with a pile of half-used clay bags at the end of the semester.
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Deets on the Ledger System
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Clay must be weighed and recorded at the time it's taken for use.
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Flopped pots and scrap clay that goes in the reclaim bins counts towards your allotment. The allotment puts some limitations on extra productive potters, but allows the majority of students to work freely without being bothered by their clay use. Only a fraction of students use their whole allotment.
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​Students may use up to double the allotment. This additional clay costs $2/lb and is paid for at the end of the semester. $2 covers the clay, materials, and firing costs.
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Clay used for handles and securing pots for trimming (under 1lb) does not need to be recorded.
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We have two specialty clays, porcelain and charcoal brown, which are recorded as 1.5lbs (or marks on the ledger) for each pound used.
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All clay bodies are combined for our recycle clay. The recycle clay is recorded normally.
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Students may not store clay (whether trimmings, slip, or ball clay) on their shelf for recycling or later use. Students are welcome to re-wedge clay in the same sitting to reuse it.
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Students with the means to work with clay at home may take up to 10lbs home. Teachers must be notified first. This may not be used to "save" clay.
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End of semester clay use
Wet clay use ends on at the start of the 2nd to last class of the semester. Students with nothing to work on this class may do hand building projects. Settle up your extra clay in your last week of class with a staff member. Clay doesn't roll over to the next semester.
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The Clays
Laguna B-Mix 5 - Shrinkage: 12%
Acts like a stoneware-porcelain hybrid. Very plastic. Good for throwing, OK for hand building. Slightly prone to cracking.
Laguna B-Mix 5 w Grog - Shrinkage: 11%
Same as Bmix 5, but with grog. Increased workability and better shrinking behavior. Decreased hand feel on the wheel.
Standard 112 Brown - Shrinkage: 11%
Nicknamed 'speckled clay'. Good all around clay body. Has grog. Contains manganese.
Standard 211 Hazel Brown - Shrinkage: 12.5%
Dark brown stoneware. Great for throwing and hand building. Has grog. Color is sensitive to small temperature differences.
Standard 551 V.P. Porcelain - Shrinkage: 13%
Extra creamy porcelain. Nice hand feel. Good for the wheel and hand building. Very bright color. *Specialty clay, mark 1.5x on the ledger
Standard 266G Umbria - Shrinkage: 11%
Nicknamed 'charcoal clay'. Amazing dark color. Plays beautifully w glazes. Extremely messy, plan on double the clean up time. Risk of bloating.
Makeup Policy
Class students are welcome to join other classes throughout the week to make up for classes they have missed. There are some guidelines:​
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Most importantly students joining another class as a guest should be prepared to absorb the planned lesson. Teachers are there to help all students in their class, including guests, but they're not expected to allocate extra time to guests to catch them up to the rest of the class.
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Students may join a class of a different experience level than their own. If a student is joining a more advanced class, they should be mindful of the previous guideline.
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Students in a wheel class should not join a hand building class and vice versa.
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If you've missed multiple classes, you're welcome to make up the same number.
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It's rarely the case, but if a the whole class is in attendance, guests should give the assigned students priority and take a wheel or table space nearby.
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As a courtesy, students can send their teacher an email to let them know they won't be in class. Please email them directly rather than Indigo Fire.
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Students don't need to email anyone before joining a class as a guest.
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Inbetween Semesters
Belmont
Mid-way through the semester and at the end of a semester, the greenware shelves are cleared of forgotten pottery. Bone dry, moldy, clearly forgotten pots are recycled to make way for new pots.
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Remember that as long as you get your pottery bisqued, you have two months to come back and finish glazing even if you aren't continuing the next semester. Work in progress pottery must be cleared out however to make space for the new semester.
Watertown
The Watertown class shelves are cleared of in-progress pottery on the Friday before a new semester. Because teachers have control over the different shelving units in Watertown though, they may use their own judgement to allow students to keep work on the shelves between semesters as long as the boards are clearly labelled. Please put tape directly on the boards for labeling, rather than the plastic.
This Semester's Schedule​
Ware Cart & Firing Info
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Broken/Damaged Pottery
As careful as our staff is handling all the pottery we process, some pots inevitably get broken or damaged. There is a shelf in both studios where these pots are placed with a note explaining what happened. Students are welcome to remake the pots with free clay, but there is no other compensation. Pottery is extremely fragile and occasional accidents are unfortunately part of the process. If your pot gets broken, just know that it happens to all potters.
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Firing Times and holding policy
In general, it takes one to two weeks to get pots fired from the time you place them on the rolling carts. Pots going in for the first (bisque) firing usually take a bit longer. Every pot that comes out of the kiln, whether it's bisqued or glazed, gets stickered with a date. Indigo Fire holds onto all pottery for two months from the date of that sticker. If a pot stays around beyond that two month window, it may be cleared out.
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Glaze Limbo Shelf
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Tips on loading pots onto the ware carts
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Cookies
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Beads, Tiles, Plate Sets, and all manner of unique clay objects that are difficult to fire.
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Combustibles
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Oxide Decorations
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Belmont Specific
Class Shelves
Class students should store their pottery in any of the class shelves which are in the middle of the studio. The shelves are divided up into a front, middle and back section. Each section has it's own white board tracker associated with it. Students should use the trackers to record and remember where their pottery is stored. Writing your name in a spot on the tracker does not reserve that shelf for you, it's just a way to help keep track of your pottery. If a shelf spot is available, but someone's name is associated with it on the tracker, you should feel free to use that spot, erase that name and write your own name there.
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Class Stamps
Each class has a corresponding 'class stamp'. Students that choose to stamp their pottery with the class stamp will have the benefit of their pottery getting placed on the appropriate class bisque shelf and class glaze shelf. Stamping your pottery can be particularly helpful for beginners because many of the pots can look similar and it makes it a lot easier to find your pottery.
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Plaster
Unfortunately, we only have enough plaster in the Belmont studio to manage the clay recycle process which means that students should not be laying out their own clay on the plaster.
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Hand Towels
The Belmont studio does provide hand towels for students to use. Please keep in mind that sponges should be used to clean up clay bits and slip spillage, while towels should be used only to dry your hands when needed. Caked clay in a towel is tough to get out. When you're done with a hand towel, please clean it thoroughly and hang it up on the towel rack.
Watertown Specific
Class Shelves
Each class in Watertown has a shelving unit for their class to share. Teachers are given the freedom to manage their shelves as they want. For example, if space gets tight, a teacher may ask students not to store bisqueware on those shelves. In other instances, if there's plenty of space, teachers may allow students to even store their tools on these shelves.
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Rolling Carts
The Watertown studio has a series of rolling carts that store bisqued pottery, and a group of carts that are for pottery waiting to be fired. The carts will be labelled accordingly. Some carts will be specifically for greenware waiting for bisque firing and some carts will be for glazed pots.
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Wedging tables
There are 12 plaster slabs available to students for wedging and drying out clay. Please remember that clay should only be dried out to reuse during the same visit. Plaster is a beautiful surface to wedge on and has many benefits compared to canvas. It's important to remember though, that the plaster may dry your clay out during wedging, so if this is undesirable we recommend spraying the plaster down heavily with water.
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Tools
Indigo Fire Watertown does not supply tools for students. While larger tools like a heat gun, extruder, buckets and sponges are available, we ask that students purchase their own smaller throwing tools. We have a basic throwing set and specialized Mudtools items available for sale in the studio. If you would prefer to purchase tools ahead of time, we suggest searching "basic throwing tools" on Amazon, Dick Blick, or any search engine to get a set appropriate for a beginner. As you grow in your throwing practice you might choose to purchase some higher quality or alternative tools - that's all up to you!
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Wheel Pods
There are three pods of wheels at the Watertown studio. They are labelled 1-3. Pod 3, which is located closest to the entrance door is reserved 100% of the time for independent study students and class students practicing. There will be a schedule posted each semester that shows where each class will meet. Early evening classes that meet between 5-7pm must have their wheels cleaned up for the late evening classes at 7:30pm. If you're in the early evening class and you want to keep throwing after the class ends, you just have to relocate to a wheel in pod 3.
Glazing Guide
Improper glaze technique often results in objectively negative results. Glaze defects like excessive running, crazing, pin-holing and crawling can happen. In addition to ruining your pottery, many of these defects damage our kiln and kiln furniture. The onus is on you to glaze responsibly.
Analyzing test tiles and choosing a glaze
Look at the test tile and specifically the section of the test tile that matches the glaze you’re using. Do you see crazing, pin-holing or excessive running? If you have a textured pot, you should be looking for glazes that highlight edges. This glaze action is called “breaking”. If you have underglaze decoration on your pot you should be looking at transparent or semi-transparent glazes. If it’s a functional pot then the interior should be a level 1 or 2 food-safe glaze. Drippy glaze combinations should only be used on pots that have a sufficient ledge and foot to catch the glaze. If this is not the case, there are some techniques to safely use a drippy glaze like only dipping the second layer halfway up the pot or brushing it on. Even then, one must be careful.
Basic Glazing Strategy
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Wax the bottom of your pot. Forbes wax (pink) is best for this.
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Wait at least 10 minutes after waxing. Thoroughly stir your glaze of choice. Using tongs, dunk the pot in glaze for the first dip. Hold the pot in the bucket for 2 seconds. Pull the pot out of the glaze and hold over the bucket long enough for the glaze to run off and mostly stop dripping. Rest pot back on the table.
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Wait at least 10 minutes again for the first glaze layer to dry completely. Repeat step 2 which will apply your second layer of glaze if desired.
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After your second layer of glaze has dried, you can pick your pot up and use a sponge to clean off the glaze residue on the waxed bottom of the pot.
Tips related to basic glazing strategy
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The bottom of your pot should be completely waxed. The wax should go up the size of the pot at least ¼ an inch as well. This can change depending on the glaze combination used and your experience level. Be aware that glaze will never stick anywhere the wax goes and there is no way to remove the wax. Brush it on carefully. We have Forbes wax with alumina mixed in. This is good for pots prone to “plucking”. Plucking mostly happens to large pots and porcelain. This wax + alumina is also useful for waxing lids. The longer you wait after waxing, the better the wax is able to resist the glaze.
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A very small amount of settled glaze at the bottom of a bucket is acceptable, but any significant amount means you must stir more. The amount of time you hold your pot in the glaze determines the thickness of the dip. Keep in mind that larger, thicker pots can absorb much more glaze.
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If the second layer of the glaze is applied before the first totally dries, it will likely crack and flake off the pot. If you would like to apply a thinner second layer of glaze, try spraying the pot with a bit of water before dipping. If you are choosing a drippy combination, you might try only dipping the top half, or two thirds of your pot in the second glaze.
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Experienced students may add a third, “accent” layer of glaze on the rim or top of a pot if they determine it to be safe. Wet or dry glaze on the bottom of a pot can easily be removed with a damp sponge. You can wipe glaze beyond your wax line if desired.
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Sponge the waxed portion of the pot well so that it’s completely free of glaze. You may include a sticky note with your pot if it has exposed oxide wash or a safe, stable glaze close to the bottom. Remember that our kiln loaders are trained not to fire pots with glaze too close to the bottom.