The Home Studio Vol. 1 Where Do I Start?
Clay bags. Image credit: Emily Brookfield
In this series I’ll break down the basics into bite sized chunks and give you the info I wish I had before setting up my own home pottery studio.
Let me paint a picture for you. You’ve done a few terms at your local pottery studio and you know your way around the wheel fairly well. OR, you’re a keen hand builder and you’re starting to get serious. You love your weekly class but you’re itching to get more time to practice what you’ve learnt or to just be creative so you decide that you’re going to set up a space at home. Where do you begin?
Firstly, congrats! That’s so exciting that you’re ready and keen to take your practice to the next level. I bet you’re thinking “Help?!” It can be a lot to wrap your head around but I’ve got you covered. I’ll take you through studio safety, storage, clay recycling, tools, glazing and much more! But today I’ll give you an overview of the essentials to get you started.
First things first, find your space.
Now this will be different for everyone as we all have different living situations. Remember to take into consideration if you use a wheel, where will that go? Also carpet is not your friend when it comes to working with clay. Ideally the space will have a floor that can be mopped easily or hosed down if you’re working outside. Some ideas for spaces can be a corner in your shed, on a balcony, spare room or even your dining room table! I’ve worked from a spare room in my rental for the last few years and over that time I have slowly outgrown the space. I’m currently in the process of moving everything out of that space and taking over our shed! To see how that process is going you can follow along on Instagram. I share this stuff mostly in my stories so get lurking!
I recommend the following items to start:
At least one shelving unit for tool storage, and to place your work when it is drying
A table with a non glossy surface to knead/wedge your clay
Storage for your blocks of clay
Some cement sheeting or sheets of thin ply wood to place your work on once you take it off the wheel (You can cut it to fit your shelves that way you can move and store your work more easily). Also known as “ware boards”.
A wheel - If you work on a wheel you can buy them second hand from Gumtree, FB market place and pottery pages like pottery equipment for sale Victoria/NSW/QLD etc. Second hand wheels sell incredibly quickly so keep your eyes peeled and make informed decisions before you commit to purchase. It helps to do your research on good wheels and pricing. Alternatively some studios rent out their wheels to students. Check if your local studio offers this service as it’s a good place to start!
Basic throwing tools. You can buy tool kits from various pottery supply shops and online depending on your location. Simply google pottery supply shops in your local area to find your nearest store.
Buckets! I can’t tell you how incredibly useful buckets are for clay scraps, cleaning tools and other bits and pieces. I have a small bucket filled with water to use while throwing and larger buckets for recycling clay.
Plastic bags or tubs. I know, plastic bags are not very eco friendly but they’re an inexpensive way to keep your work covered to control the drying of your pots and you can definitely recycle from packaging, shopping bags or when you purchase your clay sometimes they’re packaged in two bags to prevent it drying on the shelf in store so use those! You will get a lot of use out of the same bag. Alternatively you can use large plastic storage tubs with a lid to control the rate at which your work dries
Access to a water source. Could be your laundry sink or backyard tap.
Studio shelves. Image credit: Emily Brookfield
If you are hand building you’ll have a little more flexibility in where you work but all (besides the wheel) of those things above apply. A great alternative to a wheel for hand builders is what’s called a banding wheel. You can also substitute this for a lazy suzan.
Bisque ware on studio shelves. Image credit: Emily Brookfield
Ok so, let’s talk about cleaning your space.
Whether you’re working in your home on your kitchen bench or out in your garden shed, you need to make sure you’re keeping your space clean and free of clay dust. Cleaning as you go is a good way to prevent build up and forms good habits! It also makes the task of cleaning up at the end of the day way less daunting. This aspect of your practice must not be taken lightly as clay dust can be very hazardous to your health if you breathe it in. Silicosis or “Potters Rot” affects the lungs and does irreversible damage so let’s avoid that and work within a clean space!
Avoid using a vacuum in your space as this launches the dust into the air. If you cannot avoid it please use a P2 face mask while you vacuum and open all doors and windows for ventilation. Wait until the dust settles again to enter the space. Again, I really recommend avoiding using a vacuum if you can. A brush and shovel to get any larger bits of clay trimmings is ok but where a mask if you can.
Use a mop to clean your space. You may need to go over the surface a few times changing the water between cleans if you’re a messy worker like me!
Wipe down all surfaces regularly with a damp sponge to prevent clay build up.
Clean your wheel between uses. This prevents clay build up but also ensures the longevity of the machine.
Clay storage. If you’re storing open blocks of clay within your house including the laundry make sure it is completely sealed. You can place it into a lidded storage container. This will prevent clay dust but also stop the block of clay from drying out too quickly.
Avoid tipping clay/glaze down the sink. Your household pipes will become blocked and can cause a lot of headaches for you down the track. Take any large chunks of clay and put them in a bucket to recycle (more on that in another post!). If you need to discard water but it’s got a lot of slip in it, leave it to settle overnight and then pour as much water off the top out and the rest can go into your clay recycle bucket.
Make your glazes outside or in a very well ventilated area where possible to prevent powdered materials spreading through your space. Once they’ve been made you can bring them inside to store and glaze your work.
I won’t talk about kilns in this post as when you’re first setting up it can be difficult to find a kiln that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg that suits your power source. It’s a whole other thing! I’ll talk about kilns in more depth in another post.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
PPE is a very important aspect of working with ceramics. Here are a few items I would recommend:
Closed toed shoes. Bit of a no brainer. I recommend wearing closed toed shoes in community studios but not always mandatory in your home studio. Use your better judgment with this one.
Apron. Less for health and more on keeping your clothes clean! Which in a round about way prevents dust from getting into your clothes and spreading through your house.
Gloves. There are a few different reasons I recommend gloves and a couple of types to consider. Disposable gloves or rubber gloves are great if you are working with glazes. I don’t tend to wear gloves myself when glazing but some people prefer it. When working with a hot kiln you will need to wear thicker gloves such as welding gloves or VERY thick gardening gloves to avoid getting burnt. Kilns get HOT!
P2 mask. When working with raw materials and powdered glazes you must wear a face mask. It should be P2 or higher. Medical face masks or cloth face masks are not suitable and do not provide enough protection when working with these fine powders. You can buy good P2 masks and filters from your local safety shop. Disposable P2 masks are also acceptable.
Safety glasses. A lot of focus with health and safety within the ceramics world concentrates on the health of our lungs, which of course is incredibly important but something we often overlook is the safety of our eyes. Where possible when working with glazes and raw materials please wear glasses as our eyes are incredibly important and sensitive and the fine particles can cause eye problems down the line.
Raw material storage. Image credit: Emily Brookfield
Do your research on clay dust and your health when it comes to working with ceramics. The more informed you are the safer you will work.
Glaze buckets. Image credit: Emily Brookfield
Onto the work surface
Clay needs porous surfaces otherwise it will stick and be difficult to work with. I recommend you use a wooden bench or place cement sheeting (you can buy small sheets from hardware stores and can cut them down further) onto your work surface.
As long as the surface is not shiny and smooth it’s suitable. Try to avoid using cardboard as it will become soggy and fall apart under the clay. If you are working from your kitchen table and don’t have access to a non glossy surface you can use an old table cloth or tea towel to place down and work from that.
Ok so, they’re the basics on where to start! I hope that the information in this post has been helpful for you in setting up your own studio space!
Some things to take into consideration; I’ve built my studio up slowly over the past four years and collected things along the way so unless you’re a millionaire (which congrats but most of us aren’t!) this is a good place to start. By no means did I start my journey with all the fancy things so don’t stress if you don’t have the greatest and newest shiny things either. Some of the best tools and equipment in my studio are second hand. Another thing to consider is that everything in this article is a suggestion. Please don’t take it as gospel (besides the safety.. definitely take that seriously but do your own further research!). It is intended as a guide. If you don’t have something, substitute it for something else! And as always if you have any questions or suggestions for future blog posts please get in touch here.