Sunshine Studios is a vocational site of Sunshine Communities, and the pieces created by artists in our vocational program is core to our mission. While creating in our space or utilizing our firing services for work made outside of the studio, please keep in mind that Sunshine Studios must prioritize the work made by art studio individuals to display and sell in our gallery, in Sunshine Community events, and seasonal shows with community partners. We also prioritize work created in Sunshine Studios clay classes and paint-your-own pottery bisqueware.
Work from Outside Sunshine Studios: We allow items made outside the studio to be fired. However, they must meet the same criteria as pieces made in house and they MUST be compatible with our firing temperatures (cones 05 and 5) to avoid damaging kiln shelves and other artwork in the kiln. We ask that work made outside our studio include the Amaco and Mayco glazes that we use in the studio to avoid contamination in the kiln (certain glazes can discolor other pieces because of chemical reactions in the kiln) and composed of the clays we carry at Sunshine Studios – we do NOT fire wild clay or clays that aren’t compatible with our firing temperatures.
Pieces to be fired must:
• Be labeled with artist name
• Glaze pieces must leave the entire base of the piece completely unglazed, and include a drip line of 1cm thick on bottom edge of piece – wax will not prevent glaze from running and sticking to the kiln shelf, so please leave a 1cm-thick unglazed line on the bottom edge of the piece to prevent melting to the shelf.
• When working in our studio, place bisqueware on firing cart only when it’s ready to fire – please do not place wet work on the bisque cart.
• We only fire clay and glaze brands that we carry in our shop – we do not fire clay that isn’t compatible outside of the cone 05 – cone 5 range. If you have questions regarding the compatibility of your materials, please consult art studio staff.
• $5.00 per piece that melts to the shelf as a labor fee (we chisel the piece off the shelf, and have to rewash the shelf each time something melts – it can be prevented by leaving room for glaze to drip and not applying glaze too thick).
Firing Fee (for pieces that are excessively large or constructed outside of the studio and brought in to fire): $5.00 per half shelf of space, additional $10 for every 8 inches in height (very tall pieces are charged more for the room they take up in height).