Studio Rules & Policies

General

  • Our class and pass memberships are for 16 years and up. Open Studio members are 18 and up. Kids workshops are for ages 8 to 12.

  • Class & Pass Members 🎨

    • Guaranteed Access: If you're enrolled in a class or using a studio pass, you are guaranteed a wheel during your scheduled session.

    • Limited Group Size: We do not schedule more than 10 participants in a class. If the group reaches 10, at least two members will be hand-building instead of using a wheel.

    • Wheel Availability: We have 8 wheels available, and they will be assigned accordingly.

    Open Studio Members 🏺

    • Capacity Limit: Open studio sessions have a maximum capacity of 10 people in the space at any given time.

    • Wheel Access: Wheels are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If all wheels are in use, members are welcome to work on hand-building until one becomes available.

    • Independent Use: Open studio time is self-directed—no instructor or monitor is present.

    • Face masks or coverings are not mandatory as of March 1, 2022.

    • Respect personal choice—everyone has the right to wear or not wear a mask based on their comfort level.

    • However, masks are strongly recommended when sanding clay (especially greenware or bisqueware) to prevent inhaling harmful silica dust.

    • Never sand dry clay indoors—if sanding is necessary, do it outside and wear an N95 mask to protect your lungs from silicosis, a serious lung disease caused by airborne clay particles.

    • All spills should be sponged or mopped immediately.

    • There is no sweeping or sanding allowed in the studio. Cleaning is to be done with a wet mop or sponge.

    • Do not blow dry clay or glaze into the air.

    • Wet down or dampen dirty aprons with a sponge and rinse out into a clay bucket in the sink. Hang it to dry in the kiln room.

    • When using the grinding stones, and dremel tool, bisque ware should be dampened first to eliminate dust.

    • Always wear eye protection and tie your hair back when using the grinding wheel or the Dremel tool.

  • We have two Air Purifiers that remain on unless the front door is open on a nice summer day.

    • Ceramics involves inherent unpredictability. As part of working in a shared studio community, members accept a level of shared risk. The studio is not responsible for damage or imperfect results, including unintentional breakage, glaze defects, or incidents where another piece warps, moves, slumps, runs, or otherwise changes during firing and causes contact damage.

    • Refiring
      Refiring is offered as a courtesy option for members who wish to explore further adjustments to their work. Because additional firings require extra kiln time, energy, and handling, refiring is subject to a fee. Refiring does not guarantee improvement and may introduce new issues.

    Tips on Drying

    • Pieces will stay wet for weeks when wrapped tightly in plastic and left in the greenware cupboards.

    • Thrown pieces should be tented and not wrapped too tightly. They generally take two weeks to be at the right drying stage for trimming.

    • Wet pieces left unwrapped for 16 to 24 hrs will be ready for trimming.

    • Only clay purchased from CCS is allowed to be used in the studio. It covers the cost of glaze and materials and also ensures a level of quality control. Unauthorized clay can lead to temperature mismatches and cause serious damage to the kiln and other people's work.

    • Label all clay and greenware with your name, on a piece of paper or green tape.

    • Make sure to sign the bottoms of your pieces before bisque.

    • Pots are to be thrown and stored on appropriate bats. Throw on the plastic, not the wooden bats. Remove when ready and move to a wooden bat to continue drying.

    • Do not store your pots on the dirty girls or multi-bat systems. They should remain available for rotation.

    • All items are to be removed when skipping a session, including bisque ware and clay. Any belongings that are not picked up after 30 days of being notified, will become the property of Creative Clay Studio.

    • The no-name shelf will be cleared at the end of each class session.

    • If you intend to take work in progress home, please transport it using your own method, all boards, and tools are not to be borrowed from the studio.

    • You are more than welcome to bring your own tools but you will need to transport them back and forth with you. To prevent any confusion or misplacement we recommend you label your tools. We are not responsible if anything goes missing.

    • Fill your own bucket of water for hand rinsing and for cleaning the studio tools and equipment.

    • We have paper towels, reusable gloves, and communal aprons, but you may choose to bring back and forth your own hand towel, apron, and pair of gloves.

    • Ensure the session and dates you choose works for your schedule.

    • There are no make ups, trades or credits for missed dates after a session starts. A maximum of two missed dates per person, may be rescheduled prior to a session start if space allows.

    • Payments for memberships are non refundable unless canceled with two weeks notice prior to the start date.

    • Should you have symptoms or be exposed to covid, please follow current covid-19 isolation rules.

    • Currently registered members have priority to continue into subsequent sessions, but spots are not guaranteed when skipping a session, except for the summer. New summer registrants are not guaranteed spots in the fall but are placed next on the waitlist for any openings.

  • Firing Frequency
    Kilns run three times a week:

    • Once on weekends

    • Twice during the week

    Drying Before Firing
    Greenware must be fully dry before firing:

    • Small pieces: at least 1 week to dry

    • Medium to large pieces: up to 2 weeks

    Once dry, pieces are added to the next available bisque firing, depending on kiln space and achieving a balanced load of various sizes.

    🔥 Turnaround Timeline

    • Bisque Firing: Typically occurs 1–2 weeks after full drying

    • Glaze Firing: Usually 1–2 weeks after glazing

    • Larger or tall pieces over 6 inches may take 2–4 weeks per firing stage

    Firing Balance
    We aim for two glaze firings per bisque load, but scheduling depends on what fills the shelves first.

    Production Limits
    We cannot accommodate high-volume production. More than 25 large mug-sized pieces per month is considered production.

    Please Be Patient
    From creation to glaze, your piece may take several weeks. Timing depends on drying, kiln space, and firing balance. We appreciate your patience—it keeps the studio safe and fair for all!

  • If you have symptoms of COVID-19

    Stay home and self-isolate until all of the following apply:

    • your symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours if you had nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea)

    • you do not have a fever

    • you have not developed additional symptoms

    Learn how to properly self-isolate when you have COVID-19

    You are responsible to know what to do if you are exposed. Call Toronto Public health at 416-338-7600 or take the COVID-19 self-assessment tool to determine appropriate steps. https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/

Cleaning Responsibilities

    • Ensure all tools, bats and surfaces are wiped clean with a sponge once you are finished using them.

    • Tools are to be returned to their proper place.

    • Mop the floor area you have worked in before leaving.

    • Using a bucket of water, wheel heads, and wheel pans must be cleaned after each use.

    • Walls behind wheels are to be wiped off any splatter.

    • Place the pedal and cord on top of the wheel when finished.

    • Do not sweep trimmings with a broom. Gather them in one area with a mop or sponge.

    • Be a safe double dipper. Follow guidelines on glaze buckets to not cross contaminate and to ensure glazes don’t run.

    • A ¼ inch glaze margin at the bottom of each pot is required for double dips and 2mm for single.

    • Scrape drips and bottoms of pots over the correct glaze recycle bowls and glaze mats. Light glazes in white bowl, reds in the red bowl, combinations in the red bowl.

    • Stirring glazes takes time. Ensure to mix well and dip quickly no longer than 3 seconds.

    • If in doubt about the proper viscosity of a glaze ask an instructor or leave notification. Water should only be added by trained staff.

    • Label your glaze combination and put your piece on the appropriate ware cart, by size and category.

    • Use the pink sandy wax on white clay foot rings to prevent chips, before adding to the ware cart.

    • No outside glazes or underglazes are to be used without permission.

    • Underglaze should be applied on the inside of plates and bowls at the bisque stage, exception are decals and for carving purposes.

    • Glaze drips and splatter on the floor are to be mopped or wiped up with a sponge right away.

    • Wipe the glaze away from all surfaces of the glaze buckets and dollies after usage.

    • Return used test tiles to their location on the boards.

Kiln Safety

  • Only clay purchased from CCS is allowed to be used in the studio.

    It covers the cost of glaze and materials and also ensures a level of quality control. Unauthorized clay can lead to temperature mismatches and cause serious damage to the kiln and other people's work.

  • The outside of the kiln can get extremely hot, never touch it when it's on.

    Never close the kiln room door when the kiln is on.

  • Open studio members and monitors will often be asked to turn the vent and fans off when firings are complete.

  • Bisque loads once complete can be opened at 400 degrees and are okay to be unloaded by open studio members and monitors who have been trained on a voluntary basis. Glaze loads should be left closed to cool completely and are not to be unloaded, unless otherwise approved ahead of time.