Bunkhouse Studios Membership Guidelines 


Welcome to the Bunkhouse! We are happy to have you join us for our Monthly Studio Memberships/Day Passes. Your membership begins when you register, please let us know at the end of your month if you’d like to renew.  We ask that you read through the guidelines below to understand studio guidelines. 

HOURS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: We are located 717 Ste B Sixth Street, Prosser. Please park in the paved public lot in the back of the Rustic Rooster (down the alley past Brewminatti’s drive through window).  

Hours: Currently, member hours are as follows:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 10am–8pm, Thursday 2:00-8:00pm. Sunday: Noon–8 pm. Studio is closed on Mondays

Members are allowed to use the studio past closing hours but you need to lock the door, turn off the lights and AC or heat and leave the studio clean. Please turn off water faucets too - they leak when left on.

Contact us if you have ANY questions about the studio. We are here to help - contact: Julie Mercer, Program Director/Studio Manager: julie@thebunkhousestudios1.com 

THE STUDIO

SIGNING UP FOR MEMBERSHIP

When you sign up for a membership through the signup form, your membership is effective immediately. You are welcome use the studio as soon as you’ve been provided an studio tour (best to set that up before you purchase a day pass or month membership). You may use a credit card, debit card or Paypal account to sign up for auto-payments from our website.

Member Benefits

Membership includes 5% off clay and 10% off classes.  In addition we offer members an ehanced membership of $10/month to sell work in Jade’s depending on space availability and participate in other periodic sales events like the Prosser Farmers Market, Sip n Stroll, Art Walk and the Prosser Harvest Festival/Great Balloon Rally. The enhanced fee covers vendor expenses, packaging materials, administrative expenses and advertising (but does not cover Jade’s or Bunkhouse’s assesed credit card fees). We encourage artists to supply us with a QR code for direct payment to your own account. We curate the work displayed in Jade’s and require makers to bring it to the studio manager. Depending on availablity we allow 2 display shelves per member. In addition members have a full shelf space to store work and lockers to store clay and tools.

Are children welcome?

Memberships are for those 16+ years of age, however if a younger member would like to become a member please email us at thebunkhousestudios@gmail.com

Can I bring a guest?

Members can bring guests with studio permission, we do ask them to purchase a day-pass if they intend to use the studio. 

New to ceramics - should you sign up for a membership?

Memberships are intended for those with ceramic experience. We recommend those new to ceramics start with a class before joining as a member.

Cancellation Policy We do not offer refunds for memberships, or days missed during your membership month. Similar to a gym or other monthly membership, when you sign up for the month you are committing to the month. If you plan to cancel your membership, please notify us to complete your cancellation and remove all your personal belongings from your locker and member shelf.  We only store personal and clay items for 30 days then it’s removed.

Day Pass

The Bunkhouse also offers day passes for $25 per day. To obtain a day pass, if you are new to the studio, contact us ahead of time for a tour or if you’ve been in the studio before just purchase your pass on the website and you’re welcome to use it the day you would like to work but notify Julie to make sure there’s not a class going on.  Day passes are ideal for those who would like to work in the studio on occasion and those with studios at home but would like to use studio tools at The Bunkhouse.

STUDIO EQUIPMENT

  • Studio equipment includes:

    • 1 Brent, 7 new Shimpo and 2 older Shimpo potters’ wheels

    • Slab roller 

    • 3 hand building tables

    • 1 wedging table plus crete board to use for wedging

    • Wall mounted and handheld extruders plus many dies

    • Locker Storage (please bring your own lock if you want to lock it) and 1 member shelf

    • Protected shelves to store work in progress

    • Large screen TV with access to YouTube pottery videos

    • Outdoor lounging and dining area

    • Library area with books about ceramic techniques and history

Firing Schedule

We do not prioritize work for firings - we load what fits in the kiln. Please allow at least 2 weeks for your work to be fired once it is left on the shelf.  Keep in mind that each firing, i.e. bisque and glaze, should be taken into account when assessing deadlines. If you are not satisfied with a piece upon completion please remove it from the studio. Clay purchased from studio includes firing up to 25 medium size pieces per month. Over that amount we consider production pottery and at which point you will need to pay for glaze firings (see sheet on the kiln room door or online for pricing). The studio charges for large pieces (over 10” in diameter or 4 lbs which take a lot of shelf space) - see firing rates - or more than 10 tiny pieces (4” or less - very hard to pick up when fired and time consuming to load). Oversize items such as platters and large bowls require maker to put a “cookie” that fits the enitre size of the object under it on the firing shelf. We require multiple items less than 5” to be set on both the bisque and glaze fire shelves with one “cookie” under them. For approved outside clay or non member/noncurrent student firing please see our firing sheet (on the website) to determine firing price. We can pro-rate shelves less than the size pricing.

Glazing

Members, including production potters, using outside clay (with our permission) need to bring their own cone 6 stable glaze (if it’s something different please leave us a note explaining). Studio glaze is included for members using clay purchased from the studio and for students use. There may be more than one person glazing at any given time - please respect other members’ space and clean up after yourself in the glaze area. If the glaze area appears to be too crowded, please wait your turn. Always leave at least 1/2-1/4” at the bottom of your piece waxed or unglazed to prevent glaze melting on the kiln shelves. Studio will reject pieces deemed to close to the bottom. Wax resist brushes should be washed with hot soapy water (dispose of water in metal pan under the sink) and returned to wax brush container, and waxed items should not contaminate with other materials in the studio. Always line work surfaces with newpaper to prevent wax contaminating table tops.

Tools 

Please bring your own tools to the studio. We do have a few items for general use. If you do not already own tools you may purchase them online or at the studio. We stock beginners tool kits for $15 which includes basic tools and one sponge. Please bring your own apron and rags - if you use studio ones please put in the dirty rag hamper when finished.

Clay 

We are currently offering a few different pre-mixed cone 4-6 clay bodies from Georgies in Portland - a regional supplier in addition to our cone 4-6 studio reclaimed which will be a mixture of clay for $15/25lbs. We do not allow for outside clay bodies without studio approval, and outside clay must pay firing fees. Your purchase of clay the studio sells includes the price of firing. 

Clay bodies

STUDIO RECLAIM cone 4-6

(stoneware) $15/~20lbs.

Georgie’s: Cone 6

See the website for our current list of clays and pricing

Handbuilding 

Handbuilders have access to our 3 working tables & crete board slabs as well as 1 wedging tables.  Please use labeled pieces of slab roller canvas for each type of clay (white for light clay, other for brown clay). These are located hanging on a rod to the left of the slab roller.  Handbuilding tables are available on a first come first serve basis. We have a slab roller as well as an extruder, turning wheels, ware boards, and some shared tools. 

Maintaining a Clean Studio

Please leave at least 20 minutes at the end of each session for cleaning. Refer to the Safety and Cleaning Protocols to view more detailed instructions around cleaning.  Leave the studio as clean or cleaner than you found it. Wipe down your equipment such as the wheel bats, slab roller, extruder, wedging table/boards, wheels, etc. We maintain a clean studio environment. Clay dust can be hazardous if it builds up so please do NOT sand your pieces inside - if sanding outside, please wear a mask. The sander/grinder is on a portable table you can move outside the garage door to use - wear safety glasses (on the blue pegboard next to the extruder).

Studio Equipment 

Ask for instruction if you are unsure of how to use equipment (slab roller, extruder, wedging table, wheels, etc.). We can show you the basics of using and cleaning equipment. This helps to prevent these tools from being damaged as well as prevent personal injury. 

Respecting others 

Do not leave clay you are drying out on the wedging table plasters - those are for wedging only. If you chose to dry your clay in the community studio - please do so on the wedging plaster at the end of the blue lockers.

We expect members and students sharing the space to treat each other with respect. If you have an issue with someone else's behavior, be respectful when interacting with them. If you are concerned with other users or instructors (trouble respectfully communicating) in the studio about policies or sharing workspace please ask Julie for assistance. We strive to create a harmonious workspace. If you are having a phone conversation, listening to your own device’s music or podcasts please wear headphones.

Sexual Harassment Policy 

It is very important to us to have a space that feels safe for anyone. Sexual harassment is not tolerated in the studio, do not sexually harass anyone else in the studio including members, students, teachers, guests, and anyone else on our property. Violating these terms will result in a loss of access to the Studio. 

Lost and found

Please notify the studio of any found or lost items. To retrieve lost items please contact Julie during normal business hours, 206.261.4490 or julie@thebunkhousestudios1.com

Personal Property 

We ask that you do not touch other artists' work or use other’s tools without asking permission first. When arranging work on shared shelves please approach others' work with caution if you need to move anything. If you do not know how to safely move someone’s work please ask. We strongly encourage you to handle others' work as cautiously as you would hope for your work to be handled by another.  

Animals 

Animals are not allowed inside the studio space with the exception of permitted service animals. Pets are welcome inside the fence on the outdoor patio (provided they are not aggressive).

Guests

No one other than members are permitted to work in the studio. Guests may purchase a day-pass.

Photos

We may take photos of you working (or your finished piece) from time to time. If you would NOT like your photo taken please let us know.