Craftshop

Ceramics

The ceramics area is the most heavily used area of the Craftshop. It is important that all comply with the following procedures to keep the area running as efficiently as possible.

Materials and Supplies
The Craftshop sells pottery tool kits, individual tools, plastic storage boxes, low fire under-glazes and both new and recycled clay. Clay used in the Craftshop must be purchased here as the price includes glaze and firing costs as well as maintains the integrity of matching clay bodies to glazes. Cone 5 (high fire) RED and BUFF STONEWARE as well as cone 05 (low fire) RED EARTHENWARE are the clay bodies available.

Wheels
Clean wheel thoroughly after use. Wipe down wheel head, all surface areas and thoroughly clean splash pans. MAKE SURE ELECTRIC WHEELS ARE TURNED OFF before you leave.

Water Buckets

When cleaning up, first put large chunks of day in the slop bins beneath recycling tables.
Dump the top water in the bucket into the sink.
Put the remainder of clay slurry into slop bins.
Wash out bucket thoroughly .

Wedging Area

The wedging table is used to work all types of clay bodies used in the ceramics area. To keep clay bodies separate and pure, always scrape down area and put clay scraps into proper slop bins.
To finish cleaning, scrub area with a brush and wipe it clean with a damp sponge.

Storage Areas

Cubby bins are used to store tools and clay. Find a cubby and affix a label with your name on the shelf. Always mark clay bags in several places with a Sharpie pen.
Drying shelves must be kept clean to provide space for new work. Work in progress that needs trimming should be wrapped tightly in plastic and placed on these shelves. Label pieces left on the drying shelves, so that they can easily be found. Avoid trimming dry work, as it is difficult and not very successful. Pieces can also be kept here to dry before taking them to be fired.
When finished with a board, throwing bat, or plastic, CLEAN IT and PUT IT AWAY.
Plastic throwing bats that fit on the electric wheel heads are meant for throwing, NOT STORAGE. Place work on a wooden board as soon as possible to keep enough plastic bats available for throwing.
Move dry work to GREENWARE shelvesin the kiln room when it is ready to be bisque fired.
CLAY DUST IS A HEALTH HAZARD, so please clean up wet clay when it is still wet and keep the exposure to a minimum.

Kiln Room
Learn clay terminology, and always place work on the proper shelf. Since ceramics is a multi-step process, this helps keep the flow of work moving along.

WET - Clay right out of the bag and very plastic or throw able.
LEATHER HARD - Clay that has dried some but is still somewhat pliable to trim.
GREENWARE – Clay that is completely dry, fragile and room temperature to the touch.
BISQUEWARE – Clay that has been fired once to a low temperature, fairly sturdy, but porous so that glazes will be easily absorbed into the clay body.
GLAZEWARE – Clay that has been fired to the proper high temperature to allow the glaze to melt and form a bond with the clay body. The finished product.
NEVER HANDLE OTHER’S WORK. Pottery is fragile and breaks easily. Never pickup a cup, mug, or teapot by the handle until it is completely finished with glaze firing.
NEVER OPEN A KILN. The kilns are loaded, fired, and unloaded by Crattshop staff on an as-needed basis.

Glazing

ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD OR DRINK ALLOWED IN THIS AREA.
Glazes in buckets are high fire Cone 6 to be used with the stoneware clay body.
No more than two coats of thick milk-consistency glaze should be applied. If the glaze is thin, use three coats. If the glaze is too thick, get a staff person to thin it to its correct consistency.
Some glaze combinations are incompatible and will run or crawl, ruining your piece and possibly a kiln shelf as well. Ask your instructor about glaze compatibility and look at the glaze test tiles located in the kiln room.
DO NOT use oxides on bisque ware. Oxides are applied water-thin over glazes. DO NOT GET OXIDES ON YOUR SKIN OR CLOTHING.
Use a CLEAN stick to mix prepared glazes, and stir often to keep glaze particles suspended. WASH the stick and PUT IT AWAY after use.
Remember glazes are chemical compounds and their compositions can be easily changed if contamination occurs, causing them to run, crawl, or change in color or texture.

Always

Use a clean stir stick.
Keep the glazes you are not using covered.
Do not use glaze bucket covers as spaces to set wet work, because dried glaze could fall into other buckets.
Make certain your work is dry before dipping it into the next glaze.
Wipe up any spilled glaze and the countertop.
After glazing, COMPLETELY WIPE THE BOTTOM OF THE PIECE CLEAN, AND ALSO WIPE CLEAN ¼” – ½” UP THE SIDES OF THE PIECE. If your piece has a lid, wipe the touching areas clean. Place work on Kiln Room shelf labeled GLAZEWARE.

PLEASE TAKE FINISHED WORK HOME PROMPTLY
Space is limited in the Craftshop and projects get left behind, lost or thrown out as abandoned.

Contact Information
Phone: 608-262-1282
Email: craftshop@union.wisc.edu
Or stop by the Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street, 4th floor.