Hot Fox Pottery Open Studio Membership Enquiry

As you probably know, pottery is pretty technical and there's a lot to learn. While we don't expect you to know it all before using the open studio, you will be working completely independently, so you need to have a certain level of confidence and knowledge before becoming a member.

In order to get an idea of whether or not you’re ready to go it alone, you should be able to answer the following points. If you can’t answer something, do say so, (it may well be fine!) and if you have any questions, please ask by emailing contact@hotfoxpottery.com.

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Are you confident working independently?

Use of the open studio is priced in a way that doesn’t include any tuition. However, we often end up spending quite a bit of time in the open studio teaching people basic skills, which isn’t the idea at all, as we run courses for that!

Please let us know what pottery experience you have and if you are looking to do hand-building, throwing or both. 

What sort of work are you interested in making?
It’s not possible to make production runs, or products in large batches. We have very limited storage space in the studio and are not set up for this.

Obviously it’s fine if you want to make everyone you know the same thing as a Christmas present etc., but this space is intended for hobbyists, not people wanting to make a profit from selling their work.

Again, due to the limited storage space we have, it’s also not possible to make very large pieces, as there just isn’t the space to put them anywhere!

Are you happy to use our studio clays?
Included in the cost of using the open studio is reasonable use of our studio clays. We use ES5 white stoneware clay, which is good for throwing and hand-building, and also have a standard buff clay.

The glazes we use work very well with ES5 (our standard white clay). We have a few issues with some of the glazes with the buff clay, so you would need to talk to us about this if using the buff.

If you want to use a different clay to the ones we provide, this is possible, but you would need to take away your scraps and do your own reclaim. We also don’t have space to store extra clay, so you would need to bring it with you. You would also need to be happy to experiment with your clay and our glazes (do test tiles) before firing your finished work, or you can bring your own glazes (but we would need to know full details of these). 
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Are you happy to fire to our standard firing temperatures?
We bisque fire to cone 06 (998C), and glaze fire to cone 6 (1225C). We also have a pretty large kiln (Skutt 1027: Top-loading 23”x23” opening, 27” high. 7 cubic feet). So if you are going to require any other firing temperature you will probably need to rent the entire kiln, which will be pricey. Please bear this in mind, and tell us if this is likely to come up. 

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Are you confident at wax resisting, stirring, dipping, pouring, fettling, wiping glazes?


 We need your pieces to be totally ready for the kiln when you have put them on the shelf and told us they are done. (Though we will of course talk you through the quirks of our glazes when we introduce them to you.)

One of the biggest problems that more inexperienced potters have is not understanding which glazes will run on which shapes and why. If you get this wrong your piece is likely to not survive the firing process. If this happens you will still have to pay for the firing costs, and if we have to angle-grind and re-finish the kiln shelf, you may have to compensate us for that damage as well. It is important that you understand how the glazes work before you leave pieces to be fired.

If you wish to fire complicated shapes, or fire on wires, we will expect you to make your own kiln furniture, and the firing costs for this will increase. 
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Can you wash up and tidy competently without letting any clay or glazes go down the sink?
(We will explain our clay-trap process to you). We expect potters to leave the studio in the same clean and tidy state as they found it!

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Anything else you would like to share with us or ask, please write here. 
Thank you for completing the form, we will be in touch by email very soon! Any other questions please email us directly at contact@hotfoxpottery.com
A copy of your responses will be emailed to the address you provided.
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