Pottery Information

FCAAE works to maintain a safe, fair, and well-organized pottery program while sharing the district's ceramics facilities responsibly. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in adhering to these guidelines.

• Bring your own tools. Each student must bring their own eight-piece clay tool kit to every class.
  • Needed tools are a wood rib, metal scraper, sponge, clean-up tool, trimming tools, needle tool and cutoff wire.
• Mark your work. All pieces must be marked with your initials or a unique personal stamp.
  •  Unmarked pieces will not be fired.
• Limit of 10 finished pieces. Each student may create up to 10 finished pieces per clay session purchased.
  • For comparison, high school students typically create 3–4 finished pieces during an 18-week semester.
• One bag of clay per series purchased.
  • Additional bags of clay will no longer be available for purchase during the session.
• Brush-on glazes. At the request of the school district, FCAAE will provide brush-on glazes only.
  • One exception: A bucket of clear glaze will remain available for pieces that would benefit from dipping.
• Student purchased glazes.
  • Students may purchase and use their own brush-on glazes, provided they are pre-approved by the FCAAE instructor for use in the FCAAE pottery classroom.
• Size requirements. All pieces must meet the following raw clay size requirements. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that pieces fall within these parameters. Pieces outside these limits will not be fired.
  •  Minimum: 3" L × 3" W
  • Maximum: 12" L × 12" W × 12" H
• Deferred Firing Shelf. Reasons pieces may be placed on the Deferred Firing Shelf and held from firing:
  • they are not marked with initials or a personal stamp;
  • they do not meet the required size limits;
  • district staff determine that the glaze has been applied in a way that makes the piece unsafe to fire with other work (for example, excessively thick or flaky glaze);
  • district staff determine that the piece has structural concerns that could make firing unsafe (for example, extremely thin walls).
• Kiln room access.
  • Only the FCAAE pottery instructor is permitted to enter the kiln room.