Studio Usage

• Can I drop in and use the studio? You need to be part of a sessional-week class (5 or 10-week class) or participate in an independent study to use open studio practice time at RCC. Info about these can be found under our “CLASSES” Tab in the webpage navigation bar.

• I made some pottery at another studio or at my home, can I bring it into fire?
  Our sister-studio, Rat City Studios offers a Firing Service to individuals who make work at home or in another studio.  
  We do partner with organizations or schools to fire work for classes they arrange through their programming.

• Do we have children’s or youth classes? We do have a limited offing for young children. And we are offing clay camps in August! Search under the “CLASSES” tab to see what is available in the current session.
  
  Individuals 15 years and older (on the first day of participating in an event) are welcome to register for a class. A parent or guardian will need to agree to our hold harmless policy. Individual lessons may be booked along with a guardian for youth younger than 15 years of age on the day of the event.

• Do you host birthday parties, bachelorette parties, team-building sessions, or scout troops?
  Yes! Find more details here. We also host special workshops for groups of adults or professionals.
  Contact us with your needs and ideas and we can build a great experience with you.

Share RCC

• Gift Cards? Yes! >>> More Info

• Do you offer scholarships? YES >>> Learn more here.

Once you are in a class!

• What tools do I need for a Sip N’ Spin / Lesson / One-time classes?
  We provide all tools and clay for one-time classes, but you will want to bring an apron or an old towel!

• Can I practice outside of class time? Yes! Participants currently registered in sessional classes (5 or 10-week classes) are encouraged to come practice. Practice hours are scheduled via our in-house communication platform. We are an education facility rather than a production facility. Please keep this in mind when registering for a class.

• What’s the difference between hand-building and wheel throwing?
  Wheel throwing is what we call work made on the potter’s wheel. You might have heard it called “spinning,” “potting,” or “throwing,” and it involves an electric wheel, kick wheel, or treadle wheel. We use electric wheels at RCC.

Hand-building, also called “finger-building,” is work made — surprise — by hand (without the use of the wheel). This includes sculptures of all sizes, from abstract to figures and animals, as well as “handbuilt pottery”— vessel forms such as bowls, cups, and vases that are made by coil building, slab building, carving, or other construction techniques.

• What is the beginner tool kit, and where can I purchase it?
  The beginner tool kit generally includes a sponge, wire tool, pin tool, wood knife, wooden rib, aluminum rib, and large and small trimming tools. Most ceramic supply stores sell this beginner tool kit or something similar. (Buy it at Clay Art Center).