Back row, left to right: Carol Ennis, Bonnie Roach, Susan Armstrong, Robin Dyck, Michelle Kembitzky, Marge Rogers, Shannon Hirschberg, Susan Delehanty; Front row, left to right: Claire Tiejte, Jules Price, Cher Stroben, Vicki Peabody (photo by Ellen Sosin)
One day had a slew of volunteer members cleaning and moving. On our regularly scheduled cleanup day in June, our team not only managed to do the regular tasks, but all pitched in to move tables, chairs, shelves, and pottery equipment. The result is more reflective of what a studio needs to be like. There is plenty of sunlight, as the tables were moved closer to the windows. The shelves were rearranged to create more studio space. With input from the kiln loaders, the shelves were arranged so pieces that require kiln firing are closer to the kiln yard, lessening the distance that the pieces need to travel. Our members love the new studio look, and the board continues to seek input on future improvements.
In July we expanded our studio hours. Now Mudslingers is open Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Along with providing more member access times, our volunteer members stepped forward to cover all the open studio times. We are lucky to have a great network of members to be our monitors and hosts to cover all the open studio times.
Our introduction class filled quickly for August. We are accepting enrollment for the Sept. 13 class from noon to 2 p.m. Remember, we have a great intro class for $20, which includes two sessions (hand-building your own piece, then glazing techniques once your piece has been fired). When done, it’s yours to keep, whether you join Mudslingers or not. The membership fee for the remainder of 2023 is $25, 50% off the normal annual membership. Please stop by the studio to sign up and drop off your payment to reserve your spot.
What else have we been doing? Since April, things started hopping when we added three to six classes per month for our members (coil building, GR pottery forms, pinch pot, embellishments, wheel). Our instructors have many years of experience in pottery and love to share their knowledge. Take a look at the photo to see what was created in a coil-building class. These potters used the same technique, but produced designs that were personal and unique, and they had a good time together.
For more info on who we are and what we do, check out our website at www.sbr-mudslingers.club.