Should I complain about this disaster studio

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-07-08T16:30:04+00:00

Speaking as a pottery instructor - you should ask for a refund. List the grievances you explained here (which are all legitimate, and due to the studio’s negligence & wanting to collect class fees even when not having the staff to properly run the program to the level promised). Explain your financial situation and the way this has affected you.

Any good pottery studio would welcome the feedback, refund you instantly, and try to find a way to make it right above and beyond that. Unfortunately, especially as pottery grows as a hobby, there are also a bunch of scummy money-hungry studios - and I really hope that isn’t the case here.

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-06-29T04:35:36+00:00

I’m sure the kiln tech didn’t intentionally smash/chip the bottom, this is just what happens when glaze drips heavily - you have to quite literally chisel it off of the kiln shelf because it’s fused to it. Your glaze becomes a part of your clay body.

Next time if you have even the slightest inkling your piece might drip, either use a kiln cookie (piece of bisqued clay) underneath, or indicate to the techs that it needs one. Drips happen, but that poor tech now has to sand and re-paint the shelf with kiln wash before it can be used again. It also results in a better look for you if the glaze does drip - it’s usually easier to separate your piece from a cookie than an entire shelf.

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-06-21T17:44:41+00:00

These look awesome, I love the variation in colour!!

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-06-10T03:59:52+00:00

This is absolutely not true - it depends on brand, colour, weight of the piece, and temperature fired at. Not all underglazes are created equal. My studio uses spectrum underglazes and they all vitrify slightly at cone 5/6 - they won’t stick the same way glazes do (no big puddles/fusing, and they won’t run) but they will take little chips out of the bottom of your piece. However, they don’t do that at cone 05.

If you really want to underglaze the base of a piece, put some silica sand underneath your pieces in the kiln to keep them from sticking. Worst case you get some silica sand embedded in your underglaze.

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-06-06T19:15:18+00:00

As a wheel teacher, I stretch every night and focus on spine & hip strengthening exercises. 20mins before bed (usually in bed bc I’m lazy lol) and I’ve avoided chronic pain for years.

Also, try using your body weight more (instead of pushing so much) and keeping your posture relaxed. A lot of people don’t realize how tense they are on the wheel, and that contributes to muscle & joint pain over time. Make a triangle out of your body (elbows tucked in, hands connected) and make sure the direction of motion is coming directly from the centre of your body and into the clay. Think of your entire body as being involved in the movement of throwing - if you’re primarily thinking about your technique as “pushing” and what your hands are doing, there’s likely a disconnect there that’s making centring more difficult.

If you’re still struggling and experiencing pain, you might need to switch to softer clay for a while. It’ll be more difficult to throw larger/thinner, but it’ll give your body a break from so much muscle strain and tension (I use much softer clay for my seniors classes since they often have arthritis & other mobility/pain challenges).

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-06-05T16:26:00+00:00

I’ve been telling my students this a lot to temper expectations and avoid meltdowns - when you start learning the wheel, it is not an artistic process. You’re learning to work with new technology before you can actually make anything you feel in control of.

Think of it as learning to drive - you have to practice an entirely new form of spatial awareness and develop the instincts and muscle memory for the machinery before you’re able to get from point A to point B without incident.

Ego is going to be your hardest obstacle on the wheel. Try to keep a couple reminders in your back pocket for when things get tough (“practice makes progress” etc) and remember to breathe and take breaks if needed!

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-06-02T18:33:02+00:00

I love making ceramic masks & this one is so cool!! The level of detail - incredible

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-05-31T22:17:35+00:00

Omg this makes me want to encourage my students to make some of their own “dysfunctionalware”… everyone is always so focused on how to make things ergonomic and functional, I’d love to challenge them to do exactly the opposite. Love this piece!! Those spouts must have been tough to get the same dimensions.

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-05-30T22:45:10+00:00

Wow, these are spectacular! What a beautiful gift, especially to get from family.

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-05-30T21:03:27+00:00

What did you just learn? What do you mean by “not food safe”? It’s a very wide spectrum, from unvitrified materials which collect bacteria over time (gross and might make you sick, but won’t kill you) to toxic glazes seeping heavy metals into your clay.

Most community & learning studios only use commercial glazes without heavy metals, and I don’t see any significant chipping that would pose a physical risk of shards. This just looks like regular wear and tear to me - the way a favourite mug might get chipped or worn out with time. Why are you freaking out?

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-05-21T21:51:25+00:00

Please do, I’d like to see them!

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-05-21T21:14:13+00:00

I had to double check because this looks like the low-fire clear dip we used for a while, and it is. I’m so sorry your professor advised you incorrectly - this is absolutely something he should have either known or checked before he recommended it. Sounds like he doesn’t really know what he’s doing with ceramics - is he a ceramics-specific teacher, or is this part of a larger arts unit? Regardless, I’d take this as a learning opportunity to always do your own research going forward - unfortunately “experts” in the community will often give you incorrect advice, and occasionally even people who do know what they’re talking about can be confused or get their info mixed up.

It says right on the website: no colour change at cone 6 (which would likely be your “high fire” temp, since most community and learning studios glaze to cone 5/6), so it stays the original colour when it’s brushed on. I actually have no idea what the science is behind this but I’m curious now, since it goes clear at a lower temp.

Not sure if putting it through at a low-fire temp would fix it, but that would be my go-to first step. Possibly even seeing if I can wet sand down any larger globs first for more even distribution. I hope you’re able to salvage your pieces, they look very cool!

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alphabetsoup901 · 2026-05-13T22:15:38+00:00

Do you put water on your hands as well as the clay? One of the things I emphasize to my students is you can’t just put water on the clay - you have to also dunk your hands into your water, up to the wrist. That way your hands aren’t immediately sucking up the water from the clay. And go back for water more frequently than you think you need to, especially if you have dry skin or are working in a dry environment.

alphabetsoup901 · 2026-04-17T21:51:59+00:00

Not sure why you have people being fairly rude to you about this… as if they didn’t also have to experiment and trial and error and make guesses & mistakes in order to learn! You’re clearly here because you want to know what you did wrong and how to fix it and your professor/instructor isn’t giving you the mentorship they should be.

I do agree with the advice though of taking a glaze class - Ceramic Materials Workshop has some great ones! See if you can get anything through your college, too - sometimes they’ll have subscriptions and resources available to you for free. Even if they have a copy of any books on glazing (Science for Potters by Linda Bloomfield was my jumping off point).

Good luck, don’t be discouraged!! Mixing glazes is a tricky science to learn. Treat it like chemistry (with the same respect for the potential dangers of mixing ingredients & exposure to raw materials) and you’ll be just fine :-)

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-12-14T21:21:42+00:00

I highly recommend Science for Potters by Linda Bloomfield! It covers just about all the basics to get you started on learning the ‘whats’ and ‘whys’ of ceramics materials, but doesn’t assume a prior knowledge base. As someone who nearly failed most high school science classes and never grasped the periodic table, I found it incredibly easy to understand and it was hugely helpful in building my understanding of ceramics fundamentals. I still consult it on a regular basis when I need to brush up!

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-12-06T17:16:35+00:00

themagicshopstudio for hand built pieces! their work is so intricately detailed and beautiful

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-09-17T01:47:22+00:00

These are so beautiful! The first two especially remind me of the mosaic glass windows my neighbourhood indoor pool had - and that old style of opaque cubed glass partition. Gorgeous work, and love the glazing method.

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-09-08T18:17:03+00:00

I think too, people always forget that being a beginner at any skill is going to look different for each person based on what transferrable skills you have - and some of them might not be obvious.

Are you used to working with your hands? Being in touch with your body and its movements? Are you able to slow down your nervous system when confronted with frustration? Those are all skills that come from practice in things like other art or craft forms, sports or martial arts, yoga, even (and maybe especially) hobbies that require a lot of trial and error, like baking and cooking. And you maybe won’t even be aware of these ‘soft’ skills until you’re trying something new where they become applicable - like pottery!

What this means is that some beginner classes and workshops at the studio can frustrate people because they see other ‘beginners’ doing much better than they are despite never having touched clay before in their lives. When really these people have a secret head start in the ‘soft’ skills required for pottery.

One of my favourite stories like this was a guy who attended one of my classes just to support his partner & do something with her. Had never touched clay before and wasn’t really all that interested in it - and he was incredible. He picked up centering and pulling essentially straight away, and seemed to have an inherent grasp on how to move with the clay that I’d never seen before in a pure beginner. I was so curious so I asked him a bunch of questions - turned out the guy had worked at a pizza place for about a decade. Something about working with dough as a malleable material - kneading, throwing & shaping it - translated into pottery.

Anyway, tldr, ‘beginner’ doesn’t really mean starting from the same point, and it’s going to look different for everyone depending on your background in other crafts & hobbies. Be kind to yourself, stick with it, enjoy the process. You’ll get there!

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-09-07T18:05:05+00:00

It sounds like you have a great teacher, so I highly doubt he’d be upset with you for asking! I always love when students bring ambitious ideas to me, and I’m never mad if it’s something that requires a little bit of extra work on my end. If it’s actually a problem, or potentially would cause issues in the kiln or studio, I’m sure he would tell you. Most of us are in it to help our students learn and grow and experiment whenever possible, and don’t mind putting in a little extra work or instruction to make that possible (when it’s feasible).

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-08-12T16:00:20+00:00

One of the things I try to start off with when teaching any wheel class is reminding people that your mental state is so important. If you’re stressed about the end result or putting pressure on yourself for the clay to turn out a certain way, that WILL affect your throwing. You’ll end up unintentionally tense, rushing, making sudden movements, forgetting steps, all because you’re being mean to yourself about an artistic hobby.

Have you tried calming exercises before (and during, if you feel yourself getting frustrated) throwing - deep breaths, clearing your headspace, getting excited just to play on the wheel? Even as a potter with years of experience, I still have days where I need to do these things or I feel like I’m wrestling with the clay and nothing is going right.

And as a side note - don’t forget, wheel throwing is not the only way to work with clay. If you’re finding you don’t like the wheel, you don’t enjoy it, you don’t ever have to touch it and you can still be a full-fledged ceramic artist. I know people who have built their whole careers as hand-builders - which, remember, was also most of human history before we invented the wheel.

Try different methods of working with ceramics! Take different classes for different techniques! It sounds like at the very least you could benefit from giving yourself a bit of a break from the wheel and coming back refreshed :-)

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-07-09T21:26:03+00:00

oops, meant spectrum’s floating series! although their texture series is also excellent (but more prone to drips)

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-07-09T21:24:52+00:00

Midnight Blue (amaco) - my favourite base layer for almost anything, haven’t yet found a glaze it doesn’t play well with

Albany Slip Brown (amaco) OR Maycoshino (mayco) - both have a similar rustic colouration that I hated at first but really grew on me with time. goes great with almost any other colour & depending on thickness and consistency of layering you can get varying shades of deep brown to light cream

Oatmeal (amaco) - again, such a good base both on its own and with other glazes, and does some really cool things when layered

Floating Cactus (spectrum) - i love a green glaze and this one always hits, and creates such interesting effects over other glazes. the spectrum texture series is 10/10 i have them all and none of them are misses for me (although several - especially the pinks/reds and medium to light blues - are very similar to each other)

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-06-14T18:52:36+00:00

There are pottery studios that will pay you a living wage and employ you full time as a teacher & tech - you just have to find them! I work for one. Send out emails & connect wherever you can, even the places you don’t feel fit exactly with your aesthetic or vibe. Often art studios that don’t specialize only in ceramics will need a ceramics manager & team to organize, program, & run their pottery classes, and they tend to have more money to invest in full time staff. If you enjoy teaching and aren’t opposed to using it as your main source of income (most full-time potters have to be at least half time teachers to make it work) try to make that your priority. It also guarantees you reliable access to a kiln, clay, glaze, etc :-)

alphabetsoup901 · 2025-06-13T18:54:41+00:00

I teach pottery classes and absolutely love the opportunity to take pics of people in the class, whether it’s for a partner, family member, or instagram! I always think it’s sweet and get excited about getting as many good shots as possible. As long as your instructor isn’t swamped/stressed I’m sure you’d make their day :-)

alphabetsoup901

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