Getting started in the A3 Studio

Welcome!

‘A3’ refers to our upstairs-downstairs workspace adjacent to Iconik Coffee & across the street from the Green River gallery & ‘HQ’ studio. You may be enrolled in a class that meets in A3, or you’ve signed up for studio access to work on your own. Either way, here are some tips as you begin:

Studio time signup
If you’d like to sign up independent work in the A3 studio, you can sign up for 3-hour sessions any day of the week from 6am-9pm (the last work session is 6-9pm). You are welcome to sign up for as many sessions as you'd like, and back-to-back sessions are fine. Each 3-hour time slot is $16.20 (with tax).

To sign up, just go to greenriverpottery.com and select “Worktime signup” from the main website menu. You can register for an account here, but you don’t have to. Note that HQ & A3 have separate calendars.

Getting into the studio
If you arrive and the door to A3 is locked, here’s what to do—it’s easy but a bit complicated to explain, so bear with us here! There is a key to the A3 studio on the main table in the gallery, which is the front room in the ‘HQ’ building. The gallery door is the first door at HQ (closest to the street). If the gallery door is locked, try the studio door (a little further back in the parking lot). If the studio door is locked, follow instructions on the keypad to open that door. The code is available either from your teacher or from Theo, studio owner. You can get to the gallery from the studio door by turning left right when you walk inside, through the door and through the glaze room.

Once you’ve gotten the key and unlocked A3, you can either keep the key in A3 while you do your work session (and return it before you leave), or you can return it to the table in the gallery right away. If no one else is in A3 with you when your work session is over, you will need to lock back up with the key. Please be sure to also lock the HQ studio door if no one is there when you leave (just follow the instructions on the keypad for that door).

If you have questions or anything is confusing, let us know! Feel free to call or text me (Theo) 505-614-6952

Studio operations & cleanup procedure
We do not reclaim clay in the A3 studio, so you can just discard your clay when cleaning up (or you’re welcome to keep it and reclaim it yourself). You will see one or two discard buckets out on the floor around the wheels. Just throw your big chunks of discard in there!

For throwing-water or splash pan slop, you can dump the contents of your splash pan and water bowl into the bucket with the grate on top, over by the sink. (You’ll also see sponges on the shelf above this.) Then you can clean your tools/splash pans/bowls in the other water bucket next to that, on top of the metal crate. Please don’t do clay cleanup in the sink!

At the end of your work session, put your dirty towels & aprons in the wooden crate on the bathroom floor.

Where to find things in the studio

-Towels are next to the sink

-Aprons are hanging on nails next to the lamp area

-Splash pans are stacked on the long table with the wheels

-Folding chairs are in the bathroom

-Tools and bats are on the equipment cart near the kilns (right next to those glaze shelves where you’ll be putting your glazed ware to be fired)

-Ware boards (as well as a variety of molds and chucks) are on the shelves under the long table where the lamp is

-Plastic for covering damp work is in the red laundry bag next to the wedging table

-Wedging table is covered in canvas, back in the northwest corner of the room. Please clean it off with a wet sponge when you’re done!

-Trash can is right by the aprons, next to the little door to the under-stair storage area

While you’re working:
For a refresher on studio etiquette please refer to the participation agreement that you’ve had a chance to read over while registering. Briefly, just remember that 1) it’s great to focus mainly on your own work 2) arriving & leaving on time shows respect to your fellow potters 3) fine to drop by without signing up if you want to see if the kiln has been unloaded, or unwrap pots ahead of a work session, etc

If you are alone in the A3 studio we recommend locking the door, especially if you’re upstairs or it’s dark outside. In this case please listen for others knocking on the door who also are arriving to work. 

Fine to bring your own midrange clay, underglaze, & glaze. If you’d like to purchase clay we have a few choices. You can make your purchase online—just give us a day or two lead time to get the clay onto your shelf. Please don’t wait to purchase clay till you’re here at the studio for your work session.

Class cancellations:
If there’s bad weather, a snowstorm or power outage, your teacher suddenly gets sick, etc., the studio may have to cancel class. (Very rare). When this happens we will give as much lead time as we can. If you’ve already arrived for your class, or can brave the snow, please use the time for independent work if you’d like. Sometimes we are able to reschedule a class cancelled due to weather, though not always.