Studio Rules - Membership

Please be respectful of the space, including other members, students, and Báhoo team! You’ll find signs around the studio to ensure the space flows for everyone.

Members are not allowed to host their own classes or private lessons in the studio, or have guests in the space. The studio serves a great number of people and we need to ensure there is room for everyone.

The monthly membership includes access to the space and equipment during open hours. The studio fires at a cone 5-6. Any clay that is used at the Studio needs to be purchased from a clay manufacturer (ex. Plainsman, Tuckers, IMCO, etc.).

Your practice will be entirely self-run. This means that membership does not include instruction. While other ceramicists work from the space, please remember they are there to create and won’t be available for questions or help.

Previous experience is required. Usually, this means you have taken a wheel throwing or handbuilding class in the past few years, or you have formal training in ceramics. Priority for memberships will be given to current and past students of Báhoo Studio.

The monthly membership is a month-to-month commitment, we request one month’s notice to cancel. This means that your membership needs to be canceled by the last day of the month before you are planning on leaving. Your last day at the studio will be the last day of the month by 12pm.

If you choose to cancel your membership, all projects must be completed before the membership expires.

Bahoo will store your clay and projects for one week after your membership expires, after which they will be either recycled or donated.

Bahoo fires to cone 5/6 (stoneware/mid-range).

All members are required to source their own materials.

For works in progress, place your work on a board, cover with plastic, and put your name and the date on the outside of the plastic with tape.

We request that all members carve or stamp their name very clearly into their work using three or more letters. Anything not labeled will not be fired.

We cannot store work indefinitely, as much as we would love to hold on to your pieces, we have to ensure that there is adequate space for all members in the studio.

If you are a Communal Member, please be sure to label all wet projects and personal recycling with your name and the date; anything not labeled will be recycled.

If you are an In-Between Member, please be sure to condense your work in to your designated shelf space.

Bisqueware must be glazed within 2 weeks of it being unloaded. After this point, it will be up-cycled or donated.

Finished glaze work must be picked up within 2 weeks of it being unloaded. After this point, it will be donated.

The studio does not use wax resist. Wax resist is highly toxic when fired, which means that no pieces can be waxed prior to being fired. If your piece is waxed, we will not fire it.

Make sure all glaze is wiped to 1/4” from the surface of the shelf. If you think your piece might run, put it on a cookie.

Any pieces that are not properly glazed, bottoms wiped, or the glaze seems to be running will not be fired to avoid kiln damage.

All glaze bucket lids must be securely closed.

If you have your own store-bought glazes or underglazes you want to use, bring in the packaging and have a staff member review it and fire a test tile on a cookie.

Báhoo offers the following Member-only equipment:

8 electric pottery wheels

Wedging table & boards

Communal clay reclaim station

Communal hand building table

Glazing station

Various molds for slab building

Members must provide all their own tools, clay and glazes and other materials.

Members are encouraged to recycle their own clay at our communal reclaim station. Any clay that is added to the Báhoo studio reclaim is used for classes and workshops.

When washing splash pans out after throwing, please make sure that any clay particles go into the recycle bucket or wash buckets rather than down the drain. We want to recycle as much clay as possible and avoid clogging the sink.

Dust from all clay contains free silica that is too fine and heavy to be expelled from the lungs. Over time this can cause silicosis, a lung disease. Here is how we prevent this as much as possible:

Wet wiping: Wipe down surfaces with a sponge instead of brushing, sweeping, or blowing.

Mopping: Mop after every wheel throwing session or if you dripped on the floor while glazing.

Sanding: No dry sanding is permitted in the studio. Any wet sanding can happen in front of an open window, or downstairs right outside of the studio.

Báhoo only fires work made by studio members and students; this means that we don’t offer firing as a service.

Glazes must be wiped off to at least 1/4" above the bottom of the piece.

We don’t provide guarantees on when work will be fired, so make sure you give yourself enough lead time!

We do our best to ensure that everything survives the firing, but Báhoo is not responsible for a piece cracking, breaking, blistering, exploding, or any other unsatisfactory result.

Proper wet-cleaning protocol is expected of all members.

A $50 cleaning fee will be charged to members that do not leave the member space as clean as they found it. This simply covers the cost of staff cleaning up your area.

Please be sure to respect your scheduled time for membership. We have a bustling space and value all members having access to the studio. This means cleaning up 20-30 minutes before the end of your scheduled time to ensure that the Membership zone is ready for the next person.