Where are the studios lights?

The lights are located just outside the kiln room. Feel free to turn them off when you leave the studio. 

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Can I change the music?

Yes, just say "Alexa, play....." 

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Can I bring a friend?

We allow 1 guest at a time, for one project at a time. It's $20 and you can venmo @portlandclayhouse. Please don't abuse this. We don't allow members to teach private lessons or workshops using the "buddy" system. 

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Can I bring my own clay or glaze?

Yes, but run it by us. Not all clays and glazes are suited to our kiln, even if they are cone 6.

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When will you run the kilns?

We run the kilns when they are full. We stay diligent on this. Generally, when the 4 of the studio shelves are ful, we start loading the kilns. 

• The bisque kiln takes around 38 hours to complete

• The glaze kiln takes around 30 hours to complete

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My piece is almost dry, can I put it on the greenware shelf?

If you put your piece to your cheek and it's still cool or cold, then it's still too wet. Only bone-dry pieces can be placed on the greenware shelf. We determine when we load the kiln based on how the full the shelves are. Often we go to load the kiln because the shelves are full, but most of the pieces are too wet to fire. Loading wet pieces can cause them to explode in the kiln, damaging your pieces and possibly surrounding pieces. 

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There is a lot to loading a kiln, sometimes we start loading and find we have more room for more pieces, so even if the shelf is empty, we still may be loading the kiln. Please only put bone-dry pieces on the shelf. 

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How many pieces can I glaze?

In a single firing you can't glaze more than 1/2 of a studio shelf's worth of pottery. If you have large pieces or more than 1/2 a shelf you will need to space out the firings. Do not put more pieces on the shelf than allotted. We will provide a size guide in the studio. 

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How tall or big of a piece can I make?

We'd like pots to stay under 18 inches, if you do may taller pieces, they may sit out until we have other tall pieces with fire them with. 

Wide pieces need to be no wider than 13" at the base. If they are wider they will span the seam in our shelves and will most likely crack. Wide pieces take up a lot of kiln real estate and may not make it in the next firing. 

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What if my shelf is too full? Is there extra storage?

Sorry, but there is no extra storage. Please don't store clay or tools on empty shelves. If we find rogue tools and materials we will put them in lost and found. Keep this in mind when making tall or wide pieces. We are community studio and by that nature there are limits to what we can offer. Space is one of those things. 

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I'm an open shelf member, can I store my clay in the studio?

Sorry, but no. Open shelf members can only store greenware or bisque ware on the the shelves.

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​​Can I bring my splash pans to the sink or rinse bins?

No, we really need all the clean up to happen at the wheel. We do enforce this, so save us all the awkward conversation. 

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I made a large pot or plate... can I store my piece on a studio bat?

No, please dry your piece and put it on a ware board. If you want a piece to dry on a bat, please buy your own bat. Many of us do. 

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What do I do with my clay trimmings?

You can recycle your own clay trimmings. It's easy.  If you don't want to do that, clay trimming go in the clay trimming bucket by the wheels. Only leather hard or bone dry clay- no thicker than a thumb. No wet clay.

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I don't want my greenware piece, what do I do with it?

Take it outside, break into to small pieces (no bigger than a thumb) and recycle it yourself or  put in our trimmings bucket. 

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I don't want my bisque piece, what do I do with it?

Take it home and trash it or use it as a glaze test tile. Do not leave it on the bisque shelf or throw away in our garbage cans. 

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I don't want my glazed piece, what do I do with it?

If it's still functional, you can put it our our give away shelf. If it's not usable, please take it home and dispose of it. 

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Can I take a class or workshop?

Yes. We may even have a discount code to offer depending on our full the class is. ​

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What if my glaze drips on the kiln shelf?

If it's the first time this happened to you and we can get it off easily, no charge. If it's a significant drip or this has happened more than once, we will charge anywhere from $15-80. It depends on the damage. Use a kiln cookie and leave the bottom 1/8 of your pot glaze free!​

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How do I cancel my membership?

You can cancel it yourself if you made an account on our website. Or just email us and we can do it for you. 

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Can I bring in food to share?

Yes, but if it's perishable it is your responsibility to dispose of it. Please don't leave it on the counter past it's usage date and please be courteous and not expect Kim and John to clean up after you. 

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