February Studio News & Happenings- we've got a lot of free stuff this month...check it out inside

• February's Door Code is 376936 - this will change for March. If you look at your phone, that spells "Frozen" on the key pad, because it's cold, and 3am, and I very literal on no sleep, haha. Also, I hope that I have't triggered an endless loop of "Let it Go" in your head. Please don't share the door code with randos- that kinda defeats the point.
• Our (free!!!!) Coffee Talk meetup for February will be on how to trim hard-to-trim pots. That can mean pots that got, ahem, a little too organic and wonky to complex forms with undulating rims or tall necks or just not the standard easy-to-trim forms. This will also be helpful for folks who want to brush up on their trimming in general. We'll be meeting up for the demo and coffee on Saturday, February 28th at a new time this month-11am. It's free. There's coffee. There's community. Come learn a thing and hang out with us. Hope to see you then!
• This month's Workshop is, basically, fixing any and all problems you have on the wheel. I know, I know. Bold statement. But, there are some common stumbling blocks and frustrations that haunt anyone who wants to make pots on the wheel. We'll find out what yours are and give you some support and tools to iron them out. From getting centered to throwing walls in the direction you want them to go, creating even wall thickness, making pots that aren't bottom-heavy, how to use your tools and any and everything you might be struggling with, we're going to cover it. If that sounds good to you, we keep these workshops super low cost to make them really accessible - $35 for a 3 hour workshop with Rob. Great for Beginners, Advanced Beginners, and anyone not feeling like they have it nailed. Saturday, February 21st from 1-4pm, $35, you can register HERE if that sounds like something that might help you out.
• We're starting a new meetup centered on design & aesthetics in our pottery- and it's free and open to anyone. Our first meetup will be on Wednesday, February 11th at 7pm and myself (Jess) and Laura Patterson will be hosting. We'll be talking about what we want this group to do and to be - from finding our artistic voice, to how to think about design and level up our pottery, to a space to get soft feedback/critiques, to just knowing how to think through your work and make it more considered and aesthetically pleasing. But, really, that will all be up to YOU and what you say you need. If you think this is something you've been wanting to (how to make your work look better) or you're just curious, come hang out and cast your vote for what this group should look like. Hope to see you there!
• Thank you to everyone who came out to the Cleaning Day. It would have been impossible without you, and it was really nice to give the studio a deep scrub and help make it a bit safer for everyone. I was having a bad health day {shocker} but was so grateful to all the folks who took their time and energy and love and poured it into the studio. Just like you always do. Thank you so much for all that you give, for how you support one another, and for how you show up.
• Flagpole Favorites voting is open until February 13th and with so many local places {continually} shutting their doors, it's a really generous thing to do to amplify the reach of the spaces you love. In fact, I don't think there's much that does more for a business than this word of mouth vouching for a place. Another of my Favorites bit the dust last year (RIP Buvez) and I feel like more and more local-owned places aren't able to keep pace with the corporate chains. And, that's kind of heartbreaking. We really really don't need another Starbucks. If you have places in town that you love and have a few seconds to vote, it can make all the difference in keeping them going. I know a few that are on the chopping block, just struggling with rent and could use the boost. It would be heartbreaking to lose those spaces. This visilbility could even turn it around for them. HERE is a link to the voting page.
• It's tax time, so we're getting emails with our giving statements for the year, and I wanted to just let y'all know what you supported. We make sure that we keep less than we give away, and spread any profits we make into the vulnerable spaces in our community. This year, because you generously chose to create at Good Dirt, we were able to give to: Food Bank of NE Georgia, APQC, The Cottage, Project Safe, AIRC (Immigrants Rights Coalition), Love.Craft, Books for Keeps, ACLU, and The Period Project. That doesn't include donations to schools for supplies or the scholarships for the year. Yes, this is a bit of tooting our own horn, but I'm proud of what we've built together, proud of the reach we've had - as a studio - and being sure to put our money where our values (and mouth) are. We're always looking for places to support, so if you have suggestions for this next year, I'm listening. Until then, know that we're committed to keeping art accessible (we're on year 11 of our class price freeze!), and then using our profits in ways that we can be proud of.
• The next {free} Pottery Throwdown Challenge is this month, so this gives you a head's up to make a thing and join in, if you want I'm LOVING how this group is growing, and getting to see more and more faces around the table. The throwdown is simply a studio-wide challenge to get us to break out of old patterns, get creative, and have some connection with fellow Good Dirtians. The February challenge was voted on in the last meeting and the topic is anything Valentine's -y. So, that could be a pair of things. It could be a mug covered in an absolute vomit of hearts. It could be a sculpture of a literal anatomical heart. It could be a massacre, haha. No limits, just creativity. We'll be meeting on Wednesday, February 18th at 8pm to share our results with one another and just celebrate as a group. Bring a snack to share if you want, BYOB, and check out what we all came up with. Come even if you didn't get a chance to make anything, hang out, vote on the April throwdown topic, connect with folks and learn how they made their pieces. Hope you'll join us!

New to the studio? Start Here!!!

First of all, welcome to the studio! We're really happy to have you in the space creating and giving yourself some time to de-stress, get your hands in clay, make some art and hopefully connect with some folks. It's going to sound suuuuper cheesy, but pottery is a form of therapy for me, and my happy little bubble where everything else falls away. It's the only kind of meditation I can do, haha. I hope it can be just as healing for you as it has been for me.

• If you're brand new and doing studio membership, you'll need a shelf and some clay. EMAIL us to set up a time for a quick studio orientation and to show you where the clay is and get you a shelf. If you're in a class, your teacher will do that in the first class, so you don't need to reach out.
• Take the time to read through the "Studio Rules to Know" section below. It will bring you up to speed on the things you likely won't cover in class/an orientation, but that you'll need to be aware of.
• Studio Membership & Classes come with unlimited studio access. Just check the "Classes & Workshop" section below so you know when you can come in and practice.
• We are no longer selling toolkits. 1) Most toolkits that are affordable are made in China and, well, tarrifs. 2) The alternative is Amazon and, well, we're not doing that, either. 3) The good ones are between $25-$35 and we can't afford to bulk stock them. If you're new and want a toolkit, get the one from Kemper, if you can find it (Dick Blick usually has this one, or another good one). If you go to Atlanta, Davens is a place to check out. Just go with cash so you don't overspend, haha. Look for (minimally): a trim tool, a needle tool, a wire, and a sponge.
• Check out our glazing guide in the heading below. This doc is meant to help anyone who feels a bit unsure about glazing on their own. While not a substitute for learning in class, it is a great resource to jog your memory and give you some support. Just click on the heading "Glazing Guide" and you'll be directed to the doc.
• We offer a special workshop each month to give everyone (and especially our newbies) some extra help (this month's workshop will be in the studio news section above, with a link). We also do private lessons, if you're feeling overwhelmed. Let us help you get over that initial steep climb of learning a thing and maybe getting frustrated in the early stages.
• Do you need some extra support? ~ I think we could all use a little more of that right about now. If you're able, coming to the free coffee talks, coming in outside of class to hang out and practice, being vocal on our FB Group, grab the studio newsletter, and any other way that you can form connections in our little community will, I think, be a good way to lean on one another, hopefully feel safe and fully wanted, find like-minded folks, and have a little bubble to restore and reset when the world outside the studio doors feels like it's burning. Also, I'm always here for you, happy to listen, or just, ya know, do my job and answer questions and help with actual pottery things. But, I think with all the stress and uncertainty I think we're juggling, it's good to know I'm here for ALL of it. Text me anytime 770 375 6909
• On that subject, most folks who quit pottery never come back after the first class. So, if you're feeling overwhelmed or disappointed, embarrassed or your brain tries to tell you're just "not good" at pottery (LIES!!!!!), please know that ALL of us started where you are. ALL of us flopped pots. ALL of us compared ourselves or felt frustrated. The ONLY secret to this whole thing is showing up, even when you feel like you're "failing". That failing is actually just what learning looks like and if you can stick with the discomfort, it will come, I promise it will come. And you can always reach out to me and I'll help you.
• I hate that we're here, but with everything going on in our country, I want to be crystal clear on something: In this space, we honor and protect humans. Trans and LGBTQIA+ people are wanted and welcome here. Black and Brown people are welcome and wanted here. Immigrants -regardless of status- are welcome and wanted here. Anyone who wishes to be kind and respectful and learn from those different from themselves are welcome and wanted here. I know that's a lot and that this is just a pottery studio. But, it is also a refuge and an oasis for many who simply ask for human dignity and kindness. It's going to stay that way. *Check out the studio news heading above and grab a studio newsletter in our lobby to stay on top of everything going on this month.

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March Early Registration (active link on 2/14 at 1pm)

• Make sure that you can find your "Booking Confirmed" email after you register - it will have your member page link for March in it.
• Registration will go live for everyone else on November 15th at 7am.
• HERE is the link to our early registration page for March.

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February Class & Workshop Schedule (a.k.a. when to come & practice, and when to avoid)

NOTE: this will be updated as we get bookings for parties, etc, so please check before you come into the studio to practice! You can just find the day you're thinking of practicing below and see if there are any class conflicts.

Sunday Classes:

• Try Clay Handbuilding from 2-4pm (Every Sunday)- No space in the handbuilding room for practice from about 1:30pm to 4:30pm to allow for set up & clean up for class.

• Beginning Wheel from 7-9pm: No space to practice on the wheel.

Monday Classes:

• Handbuilding from 10am to noon: We ask that you leave the handbuilding space to the class to not interrupt.

• Handbuilding Class from 1-3pm. We ask that you leave the handbuilding space to the class to not interrupt.

• Advanced Beginner Wheel from 7-9pm: While there are free wheels, it is distracting for other folks to be practicing on them during class time, so please choose another time to practice.

Tuesday Classes:

• Intermediate/Advanced Handbuilding from 10am to noon: No available handbuilding space to practice.

• Intermediate/Advanced Wheel from 7-9pm: While there are free wheels, it is distracting for other folks to be practicing on them during class time, so please choose another time to practice.

Wednesday Classes:

• Intermediate/Advanced Wheel from 10:30am to noon thirty: No available wheels for practice.

Thursday Classes:

• Beginning Wheel from 10am to noon: While there are free wheels, it is distracting for other folks to be practicing on them during class time, so please choose another time to practice.

• Beginning Wheel from 7pm to 9pm: No available wheels for practice.

Friday Classes:

• Try Clay on the Wheel from 7-9pm (Every Friday)- No free wheels for practice from about 6:00pm to 9:30pm to allow for set up & clean up for class.

Workshops & Parties booked (so far...this is updated frequently, so please check often)**

Even though workshops don't generally use all the equipment, it's SUPER distracting to the folks in the workshop for others to be using wheels/table space at the same time. Also, allow a bit of extra time on either side of the time slot for set up & clean up

• Saturday, February 7th from 2-4pm Makeup Day for Handbuilding Try Clay - no free table space
• Wednesday, February 11th at 7pm - Aesthetics & Design Club - Free and open to anyone. This is the first meeting, so, if you're interested in talking about how to think through your pottery with intention, come on down and help us set up a structure for what we want to talk about in our club. Basically...help shape it to be what you want and need!
• Wednesday, February 18th at 8pm - Throwdown Reveal and Hangout - Details in the "February Studio News & Happenings"above - hope to see you there
• Saturday, February 21st from 1-4pm Fix Everything on the Wheel Workshop - no free wheels
• Saturday, February 21st from 7-9pm, Wheel Workshop, no free wheels
• Friday, February 27th from 11am to 1pm Handbuilding Workshop - no free table space
• Saturday, February 28th from 11am - ??? FREE Coffee Talk - Trimming Hard to Trim Shapes

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Studio Rules to know (a must-read for newbies and not wrong for everyone to review!)

• The studio is open 24/7 for practice, BUT, please don't come to practice on the wheel during a wheel class, or come to use the handbuilding room during a handbuilding class. (There is a whole dropdown/teal heading above with the class schedule so you know when to come in). Even if space is available during that time, it's so distracting to the folks in the class trying to learn, hear their instructor and concentrate. There's plenty of time to practice aside from our scheduled classes.

• Please be sure to clean up thoroughly when you leave - Leave it better than you found it. We've been having some issues in this department, so remember that anything you use (wedging tables, sink, tools, sponges) needs to be cleaned up- please don't pig up a communal space. Wet clay is perfectly safe, but dry clay dust can harm our lungs, so please be sure to contribute to a clean and healthy environment for all of us.

• Check the bisque and glaze shelves every single time you come in so your work doesn't get thrown away We'll be doing monthly culls and if you don't want your stuff recycled, please keep an eye out for it. We don't have the room for stuff to just sit there and gather dust.

• We're a teaching studio, not a place for folks to run a business out of. We're perfect for anyone who wants to learn, be in a shared creative space, and make work for themselves/friends/family, but we don't have the kiln capacity to support a store/loads of markets etc. If that's what you need, we can help you either set up a home studio (we get 30% discount off of kiln retail) or point you in the direction of a studio that can fire a high volume of work. We don't price per shelf fired or put exact limits on what you can make and we're not interested in micromanaging or nickel and diming you. The last time we changed our prices was a 11 years ago, and we want to keep that price low and accessible to everyone. That works as long as everyone is considerate and doesn't take advantage.

• We do not allow outside clay. Often the clays that folks want to bring in are dark/black clays which often bloat or even liquify, or speckled clays, which use manganese, which is a pretty dang unsafe material. Clays fire to specific temperature ranges, and clays with certain materials mixed in can be harmful to general studio health, can ruin an entire container of reclaim, can destroy the kiln and other work in it. If you would like to bring in outside clay, 1) we have to vet it first to make sure it will work and 2) it costs $22/bag to fire that clay at the studio, in order to cover the glazing materials and labor costs that everyone else is already paying when they buy clay from us.

• We DO allow commercial glazes, but you have to run them by us first! Send us a link to what you want to buy so we can make sure it works with our firing schedule. If you don't and you ruin a shelf in the kiln, the replacement cost per half shelf is now $400 plus shipping & tax. So, just check with us first.

• The greenware shelf is only for bone dry or mostly bone dry pieces, and not wet work. If you have to move a piece to fit yours on the shelf, be EXTREMELY gentle. Greenware is super fragile and bumping, stacking, picking up by a handle (gasp -NO!) are all no-nos.

• The white "overflow" shelving in the wheel room is a place you can put larger work temporarily (ie a week or less) as you work through the steps - trimming, handles, etc. It's not meant to be additional storage.

• All glazed pieces need the bottom wiped off (even if you used wax! Wax doesn't make glaze disappear in the kiln) and wiped back (this means don't glaze all the way to the bottom, "cut" it back.

• Wet clay is safe...dry clay dust is not. Remember to clean up the sink area, around the glazing buckets, at the wedging table and around your wheel, all the handbuilding tools...everything you use. And, please don't just let trimmings/clay sit on top of the relcaim screen. You have to push it through when it's wet.

• Registration opens on the 15th at 7am. Beginning Wheel Classes & Workshops tend to fill up by 8 or 9am the same day. There will be both a QR code at the studio as well as a link on this member page when early registration opens just for our students & members on the 14th each month, around midday/early afternoon

• We're a community. This means we need to be kind to one another, help one another and take care of each other - including our shared space. Be respectful of each other and the equipment and studio that we all use. Anyone being punky first gets a good old fashioned Come-To-Jesus, and then...well, I don't know. We've never gotten that far. Let's keep it all lovey-dovey.

Glazing Guide (if you're feeling lost about how to do it)

• HERE is a link to our to-the-point glazing guide, which should be good support for you and help jog your memory. It is NOT meant to be a stand-in for learning how to glaze. If you are unsure, please reach out and/or book a private lesson. Incorrent glazing can literally destroy shleves full of other's work and damage the kiln.

Buy Additional Clay

• Online:

You can just use the button below and a bag of clay will be added to your cart for checkout.

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• At the studio:

You can purchase more clay at the studio 2 ways: by scanning one of the QR codes above the clay boxes or leaving us a check/cash in the office. If you are paying in cash/check, since we aren’t charged any processing fees, we’re happy to just eat the sales tax cost ourselves and a bag of clay purchased this way is only $40.

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Social Links (IG, FB, YT, Private Facebook Group & Dates We'll be going live on IG)

I've been silent on social for a good while - depression meant that I had to ditch it to start to heal and become sane again. Hopefully, I'll feel up to start posting again soon.

• Instagram @gooddirt_athens

• Facebook gooddirtathens

• A Private Facebook Group for Members: HERE. This is a place to connect with each other, share your work, ask each other questions and cheer one another on.

• YouTube Good Dirt Classes Check out our past tutorials

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Private Lesson Scheduling & Payment Link

• If you'd like to schedule a one-on-one private lesson with Rob to sort out issues, learn a new form, or just troubleshoot your technique, email us and we can set up a time to work with you.

• If you need to pay for a private lesson, just click on the button below to add a 1-hr lesson to your cart and checkout.

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