Lakeside Pottery LLC
A major concern of all
pottery students is the fundamental question of studio safety. No one knowingly wants to work in a
potentially dangerous environment or expose other to uncertain materials. Ceramic materials, the forming process, and
the subsequent glazing and firing processes are not in themselves inherently
dangerous activities, but knowledge of the materials, and care in their use are
essential factors in a safe work place.
In any pottery making situation there are procedures that once known
will produce a clean safe ceramics studio.
The other areas students need to know about are the studio processes and
procedures. It is important to read each section thoroughly. If you have any question about the
information, please ask your teacher.
Please sign the end of this document after you thoroughly read it, and return it to the instructor. We hope you have an enjoyable and safe
ceramics experience.
The most often asked question about studio safety is, "what amount of clay or glaze dust in the air will cause a harmful effect on the human body?" The practical answer is to keep all work
areas free from any airborne materials.
It's not the clay or the liquid glaze floating around the studio that is potentially harmful. The nose and lungs
filter most of these large particles.
It's the micron size invisible particles that can get past our natural filtering mechanisms that can cause lung and respiratory irritation and possible damage. Again the best policy is to keep all levels of airborne material as low as possible. Following
proper cleaning procedures in ceramics work areas and a common sense approach
in handling dry materials will also be very effective in maintaining a safe
environment.
A
few potters have an allergic reaction to moist clay or liquid glazes when it
contact their skin. Small bumps or
irritation on the hands and forearms are noted after working with these
materials. Applying hand lotion to the
arms before working with moist clay or glazes will often eliminate a sensitive
skin reaction. At times under the right
condition mold can occur on moist clays (which can increase the clays
plasticity). Mold can also grow in
stored wet glaze containers
Potters
can damage nerves in their hand from the repetitive motion of wedging clay or
throwing pots. The best way to prevent
this type of injury is to break up the work activities associated with making
pots into small segments, minimize repetition, reduce speed, and rest your
hands in all shop activities. Do not wedge several pounds of clay at once or sit at the potter's wheel making pots for hours on end. As a further example,
throwing twelve pots on the wheel should not be followed by making another
twelve, but by trimming pots that are leather hard or loading the bisque kiln
for the next firing cycle. Working in
clay is made up of a series of separate tasks to complete ceramic objects. Shifting one task to another avoids
prolonged repetitive motion situation.
The
following are some safety rules you have to comply with:
v
Kiln
room off limits to students. Please do
not enter the room whether the kiln is on or off
v
Read
carefully all posted safety notices
v
Do not eat or drink in the
studio's working areas
v
Do
not ingest or inhale raw materials.
v
Wipe
down worktables with a wet sponge after project completion.
v
Wash
hands before leaving the studio.
v
Clean
eyeglasses before leaving the studio.
v
Wear
a separate set of clothes in the studio and clean your studio clothes frequently.
v
Remove
any materials from the floor that might cause an accident.
v
Class
duration is 8 weeks 2.5 hours each week and a max. of 10 students per class
v
If
you miss a class, you can make-up a class by attending a different class (if a
seat available) or use the equivalent number of hours in our Open Studio
time. Make up classes and open studio
time can not be carried over behind the 8-week program duration and are not
transferable to others.
v
A student that sign up again for another 8-week program is entitled to 10 free open studio hours to be used during the 8-week program time frame.
v
In
a class where new and repeat student attend, the new students get the first
priority in the first couple of sessions
v
We
run 8-week programs every 8-9 weeks.
Some classes start filling up 2-3 weeks before they start. If intended to sign up for another 8-week
program, please notify your instructor so that a seat be reserved for you.
v
Please
remember to take all your work with you at the last session. Items that are being fired are required to
be picked up no later then two weeks from your last class. Due to the studio storage limitations, we do not keep finished or unfinished work longer then 2 weeks (Greenware will be recycled). If you have special circumstances, please
request an extension.
v
If you wish to complete your unfinished work and not interested signing up for an additional 8-week program, you can do so by bringing your work to our open studio blocks of time and pay the hourly published rates.
v
Do not remove materials or tools from the studio with discussing with instructor.
v Class duration is 8 weeks 2.5 hours each week and a max. of 10 students per class.
v
Use cell phone in the studio is prohibited - you are welcomed to use the studio's office for important phone calls
I
have read and understand the above guidelines and agree to follow the them.
Student Name __________________________
Signature ___________________
Date ______________ (Rev 7/22/08)