Open Studio Policies
Lizzy Eichorn Studios/Monterey Clay Studio - Open Studio Policies
Open Studio Hours are only available to currently-enrolled Monterey Clay Studio students and members. Guests are not permitted. Familiarity with the equipment and proficiency with cleanup protocols is essential for independent work in the studio. If you are completely new to clay, please wait until after class on Week 2 to sign up.
There are two ways to access open studio: sign up for an 8-week membership or sign up for an 8-week class and book open studio on an hourly basis. Eight-week sessions run on a two-month basis starting in January each year. Memberships are only valid for the session you sign up for and remaining hours are not transferrable to a later session.
Open studio price: $15/hr, bookable in 30 minute increments.
Open studio schedule: Fridays 9am-1pm & Saturdays/Sundays 10am - 5:30pm.
Eight wheels, three handbuilding spots, and three glazing spots are available during open studio hours. Wheel #1 is closest to the glaze room and wheel #8 is closest to the front door. Handbuilding can be done at the front tables and glazing in the back room. Please only sign up for the open studio type that you can guarantee safe use and proper cleanup for. Glazing time is free of charge to encourage glazing as you go.
We don’t impose ware limits. Keep in mind that production potting is not allowed at the studio. It helps us immensely if you glaze as you go once you’ve been trained in bucket glazing.
Clay is available for purchase at the studio during open studio. Please do not use clay bought outside the studio - this changes our reclaim mix unpredictably.
Glaze and firing fees for work made during open hours are included in the hourly rate. Work made at home that you wish to be fired must go through our firing service (policies in development).
Ella, the open studio monitor, will be available during open hours to coordinate safety and logistical matters. Please save your “how to” questions for your class instructor. For open studio members, you may email or call Lizzy with technical questions.
Advance registration is required to reserve a space to prevent double booking. You can schedule, reschedule, or cancel open studio time right up to five minutes before an appointment. All open hours bookings are non-refundable, however you can reschedule your appointment prior to your start time by using the reschedule button on your confirmation email. Note: if you have booked time at a wheel, only times available for that specific wheel will be available for rescheduling. Similarly, if you book handbuilding or glazing time, only those calendars will be available for rescheduling.
If you can’t make your time and don't want to reschedule, please cancel your appointment(s) as a courtesy to others using the cancellation button on your confirmation email.
For this program to run smoothly, you must monitor your time. Your workspace must be fully cleaned and ready for the next person at the end of your booked hours—book enough time to include cleanup. If you need more time, book it online or ask Ella to extend your session and pay after cleaning up. If someone is scheduled after you and you can’t extend, move all dirty items to the back metal table and wipe down your wheel on time. A $15 late cleanup fee will be charged if you exceed your session by more than 5 minutes without following this procedure, regardless of whether it affects the next person. Thank you for your help in making this program fair for everyone!
The most helpful things participants can do to make this program a success:
Clean up on time! :)
Consolidate your pieces on the front shelves regularly. Once your pieces can be handled, please remove them from bats/bat inserts and consolidate them on wooden ware boards.
Wipe your paws and plastic! Remember that a clean, large sponge is your best friend. We can collectively keep dust down by wiping our hands before going into our clay bags/the plastic bin/tool bins, wiping bats down on the sides before they are put on shelves, wiping shelves clean, and cleaning/taking tape off of used plastic before putting it back in the basket.
Break up your dry scraps. It helps our team more than you could imagine when you break up your dry scraps into quarter-sized ish pieces before putting them in the dry scraps bin.
Ware Management. Please glaze your bisqueware in a timely fashion and pick up finished pieces promptly to aid with available space in the kiln room.
All other relevant Monterey Clay Studio policies must be followed by open studio participants. Thank you for your participation and cooperation!
Last Updated 3/4/25