A well-planned studio is necessary for efficiency and productivity, but a well-organized space with determined zones and open storage can provide an inspiring and aesthetically pleasing workspace.
I moved into this studio, an extra two-car garage in our home, three years ago. It was a blank slate. I quickly set about the task of deciding how to organize the space and establish work zones. I wanted it to be set up as efficiently as possible, but I also wanted it to look great and be a reflection of me as an artist. Spending hours at a time there every day, I wanted to walk into my studio and feel excited about getting to work and that I had everything I needed at my fingertips. Although it’s a big room, I knew this would require streamlined use of floor space and wall space as well.
Determining Work Zones
My studio practice is a mixture of handbuilt and thrown functional vessels, both of which require different space considerations. The heart of my studio is the huge 4 × 8-foot (1.2 × 2.4 m) table in the center of the room where I slab build mugs, plates, and platters. Built on lockable caster wheels, the table can be easily moved for mopping and an occasional change of view. Arguably, the most important part of the table isn’t the work surface, but what is underneath. I attached inexpensive kitchen storage dividers for vertical organization of my many plate forms and ware boards. Open wire drawers store ribs, modeling tools, and texture tools I will need to use at the table. Keeping them close at hand minimizes time spent fumbling around or searching in tool bags and boxes while I work. For example, I love adding texture to the bottom of my pieces, so I keep all my small texture rollers and stamps in a drawer right beneath my work surface. Hooks on the table legs allow me easy access to larger and longer tools like rulers, paddles, and a dustpan for cleanup, while a lower shelf holds full-sized rolling pins and larger bats. I’m a big fan of the high-walled lazy Susans–I have two filled with stamps, texture rollers, and many other tools that travel around the studio as needed. With shelves, hooks, and drawers tucked underneath this handbuilt rolling table is a workhorse. Because I spent so much time working on this surface, I removed the overhead garage door opener and the now-open electrical source is used to add a big, bright barn light over my handbuilding zone. Handbuilding equipment used less often, like my slab roller and extruder, is located along the wall opposite my throwing zone.
My wheel zone is one of my favorite places in the studio. Since I sit at the wheel to throw, I chose a comfortable stool that enables me to work as long as I want without negatively affecting my body.
I mounted a mirror on a door nearby so, when the door is open, I can see myself throwing. That’s been an important tool in keeping my work centered, refining the pot’s silhouette, and maintaining symmetry while I continue to hone my skills. I hung a pegboard right next to my wheel with lots of hooks and little bins to keep all my throwing and trimming tools there for easy access. My collection of ribs is actually pretty, so I want to see them. I also keep clean bats within easy reach. I store them upright in kitchen plate organizers on a shelf behind me. Above the pegboard are narrow shelves where I keep all my jars of Mason stains and many bottles of Mayco Stroke and Coat glazes, which I use frequently. Seeing all the color makes me happy.
Functional Storage
One of the most crucial elements of any studio design is kiln placement. To easily vent your kiln outside, the electric source should be on an outside wall. After wiring and installing my electric kiln, I placed a large metal shelf unit to the right of my kiln where I keep all the kiln furniture and anything at all related to firing.
To the right of my kiln zone are the floor-to-ceiling shelves where I store glazes and my test-tile grid. I only use commercial glazes, and most are premixed in pints and gallons. I do have a couple of frequently used glazes that I buy in powder form. I mix those wearing a mask outside my studio in the driveway. I also keep baskets on those shelves filled with larger tools like mushroom anvils and my collection of pottery books, a scale, and banding wheels.
All Business
I painted about 10 feet (3 m) of old kitchen cabinets turquoise and added a sturdy butcher block countertop. That’s where I keep all items more associated with the business side of being a potter: shipping materials, paperwork, and binders of glaze notes. On top of that, I keep old vases and mugs that didn’t quite pass my quality check. They are stuffed with paint brushes, underglaze pencils, scissors, carving tools, and all sorts of useful things I need easy access to. Inside those cabinet doors, I have mounted inexpensive spice racks where I store jars of underglazes and small bottles of glaze.
The gallery zone of the studio consists of a long wall of bamboo shelving where I keep finished products. The light, bright wood color is a great backdrop for all my work. I installed track lighting above those shelves to highlight them. Customers come by appointment and sometimes just drop in to shop from those shelves. But I enjoy them so much myself; there’s nothing like having such a big, visible reminder of what you do as an artist. It inspires me every day.
Additional Considerations
In summer months the big garage door is opened to welcome in the cool, fresh mountain air and sunshine. With the fresh, warm air my work dries more quickly; so, to slow it down, I cover each piece with a small, plastic paint-mixing bucket. That way each piece is in its own little chamber, and I have more control over the drying time of each piece.
Winters are cold here in Flagstaff, so I resort to space heaters. I chose a heat source that wouldn’t involve any blowing, as I didn’t want to stir up studio dust. When the temperatures start dropping, I move my clay to a connecting heated garage to avoid freezing. Since that space is heated, that’s also where I installed my studio sink to eliminate the occurrence of frozen pipes.
There’s nothing I would change about my studio. Sometimes people work better in what they might call organized chaos. I spend a little time each day keeping things picked up and put in place to avoid that chaos. I understand we’re not all going to be motivated by the same work environment. For me, however, knowing where everything is, seeing my tools, being surrounded by finished work, breathing fresh air, and enjoying the view is freeing and inspiring. And that keeps me coming back for more!
the author Kim Mitchell is a functional potter whose studio is in Flagstaff, Arizona. Her finished work and process videos can be seen on Instagram at @kim_mitchell_pottery.
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A well-planned studio is necessary for efficiency and productivity, but a well-organized space with determined zones and open storage can provide an inspiring and aesthetically pleasing workspace.
I moved into this studio, an extra two-car garage in our home, three years ago. It was a blank slate. I quickly set about the task of deciding how to organize the space and establish work zones. I wanted it to be set up as efficiently as possible, but I also wanted it to look great and be a reflection of me as an artist. Spending hours at a time there every day, I wanted to walk into my studio and feel excited about getting to work and that I had everything I needed at my fingertips. Although it’s a big room, I knew this would require streamlined use of floor space and wall space as well.
Determining Work Zones
My studio practice is a mixture of handbuilt and thrown functional vessels, both of which require different space considerations. The heart of my studio is the huge 4 × 8-foot (1.2 × 2.4 m) table in the center of the room where I slab build mugs, plates, and platters. Built on lockable caster wheels, the table can be easily moved for mopping and an occasional change of view. Arguably, the most important part of the table isn’t the work surface, but what is underneath. I attached inexpensive kitchen storage dividers for vertical organization of my many plate forms and ware boards. Open wire drawers store ribs, modeling tools, and texture tools I will need to use at the table. Keeping them close at hand minimizes time spent fumbling around or searching in tool bags and boxes while I work. For example, I love adding texture to the bottom of my pieces, so I keep all my small texture rollers and stamps in a drawer right beneath my work surface. Hooks on the table legs allow me easy access to larger and longer tools like rulers, paddles, and a dustpan for cleanup, while a lower shelf holds full-sized rolling pins and larger bats. I’m a big fan of the high-walled lazy Susans–I have two filled with stamps, texture rollers, and many other tools that travel around the studio as needed. With shelves, hooks, and drawers tucked underneath this handbuilt rolling table is a workhorse. Because I spent so much time working on this surface, I removed the overhead garage door opener and the now-open electrical source is used to add a big, bright barn light over my handbuilding zone. Handbuilding equipment used less often, like my slab roller and extruder, is located along the wall opposite my throwing zone.
My wheel zone is one of my favorite places in the studio. Since I sit at the wheel to throw, I chose a comfortable stool that enables me to work as long as I want without negatively affecting my body.
I mounted a mirror on a door nearby so, when the door is open, I can see myself throwing. That’s been an important tool in keeping my work centered, refining the pot’s silhouette, and maintaining symmetry while I continue to hone my skills. I hung a pegboard right next to my wheel with lots of hooks and little bins to keep all my throwing and trimming tools there for easy access. My collection of ribs is actually pretty, so I want to see them. I also keep clean bats within easy reach. I store them upright in kitchen plate organizers on a shelf behind me. Above the pegboard are narrow shelves where I keep all my jars of Mason stains and many bottles of Mayco Stroke and Coat glazes, which I use frequently. Seeing all the color makes me happy.
Functional Storage
One of the most crucial elements of any studio design is kiln placement. To easily vent your kiln outside, the electric source should be on an outside wall. After wiring and installing my electric kiln, I placed a large metal shelf unit to the right of my kiln where I keep all the kiln furniture and anything at all related to firing.
To the right of my kiln zone are the floor-to-ceiling shelves where I store glazes and my test-tile grid. I only use commercial glazes, and most are premixed in pints and gallons. I do have a couple of frequently used glazes that I buy in powder form. I mix those wearing a mask outside my studio in the driveway. I also keep baskets on those shelves filled with larger tools like mushroom anvils and my collection of pottery books, a scale, and banding wheels.
All Business
I painted about 10 feet (3 m) of old kitchen cabinets turquoise and added a sturdy butcher block countertop. That’s where I keep all items more associated with the business side of being a potter: shipping materials, paperwork, and binders of glaze notes. On top of that, I keep old vases and mugs that didn’t quite pass my quality check. They are stuffed with paint brushes, underglaze pencils, scissors, carving tools, and all sorts of useful things I need easy access to. Inside those cabinet doors, I have mounted inexpensive spice racks where I store jars of underglazes and small bottles of glaze.
The gallery zone of the studio consists of a long wall of bamboo shelving where I keep finished products. The light, bright wood color is a great backdrop for all my work. I installed track lighting above those shelves to highlight them. Customers come by appointment and sometimes just drop in to shop from those shelves. But I enjoy them so much myself; there’s nothing like having such a big, visible reminder of what you do as an artist. It inspires me every day.
Additional Considerations
In summer months the big garage door is opened to welcome in the cool, fresh mountain air and sunshine. With the fresh, warm air my work dries more quickly; so, to slow it down, I cover each piece with a small, plastic paint-mixing bucket. That way each piece is in its own little chamber, and I have more control over the drying time of each piece.
Winters are cold here in Flagstaff, so I resort to space heaters. I chose a heat source that wouldn’t involve any blowing, as I didn’t want to stir up studio dust. When the temperatures start dropping, I move my clay to a connecting heated garage to avoid freezing. Since that space is heated, that’s also where I installed my studio sink to eliminate the occurrence of frozen pipes.
There’s nothing I would change about my studio. Sometimes people work better in what they might call organized chaos. I spend a little time each day keeping things picked up and put in place to avoid that chaos. I understand we’re not all going to be motivated by the same work environment. For me, however, knowing where everything is, seeing my tools, being surrounded by finished work, breathing fresh air, and enjoying the view is freeing and inspiring. And that keeps me coming back for more!
the author Kim Mitchell is a functional potter whose studio is in Flagstaff, Arizona. Her finished work and process videos can be seen on Instagram at @kim_mitchell_pottery.
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