The art center is located at the top of the hill as you enter Leita Thompson Park.  As you approach the building, wheel classrooms are located on the right (east) side of the building and handbuilding classes are on the west (left) side of the building.

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• Please do not arrive more than 10 minutes early.  The building will be unlocked 10 minutes before class begins.

• Park where you can!  We have some dedicated spaces, but park along the fence or in the grass anywhere in front of the studio. Please do not park by the tree in front of the building, in front of the dumpster or by the pasture gate.  The studio is very busy during class session times... please navigate slowly and carefully as everyone comes and goes.

• Storage space is limited.  All students will have a dedicated half-shelf for personal work and materials. Please limit personal belongings and bring only the working essentials.

• Please do not rinse food waste in the studio sinks – the facility utilizes sediment traps so food remains in the traps – yuk! Food/drink may be consumed in the building, but please refrain from eating in the classrooms around others working – definitely not advisable in glaze areas.  Food trash should land in the dumpster outside rather than trash cans inside. 

• Please clean up personal work spaces, return studio materials (including boards and plastic), and to limit personal workload to exploratory production – large scale projects and/or short-term production runs for outside markets and sales need to be discussed with ACW staff individually. Keep in mind we are a community studio.  Education and experimentation should eclipse quantitative production... there’s a need for many participants share kiln and studio spaces throughout the session. 

• ALL clay that is fired at Art Center West MUST be supplied by and purchased at Art Center West.  All students will receive ONE 25# bag at the first class.  Most additional clay can be purchased from the instructor or ACW staff for $30 which includes fees for firing and glaze materials (Porcelain is $40). Please note the clay and temperature it should be fired at so that there are no problems during the session due to the unknown.

• Class registration covers materials and 3-hour instructional class time.  Additional open studio times will be available after your class and on additional days for 7 of the 8 weeks of our quarter for an additional fee of $36. Open studio is available at class registration time as an option.  The instructor will discuss open studio and the program times during the first meeting.   Open studio will begin on a Monday and run for 7 weeks until the end of the quarter, (generally open studio will be offered from 1-4 pm most weekdays, 6:30-9 pm M-Th evenings, and 1:00-4 Sat-Sun).  For those that are new participants, open studio times allows work at the studio when classes are not in session and aids to refine skills without instruction. We encourage participants to take advantage of these times, but ask that you be respectful in terms of the start and end times. Please clean up and be ready to leave at the closing time.

• First-time wheel students may stop at Blicks, Davens or shop online to pick up a pottery tool kit before your class, or as we get rolling... the Kemper set is a better beginner set.  There are an infinite number of tools and upgrades, but the set will do to start.  The studio has some tools, but it is recommended that one purchase one as the quantity of our available hand tools is not guaranteed. Please bring an old towel to keep apparel clean while working – your car will thank you!  For all classes, the instructors will let communicate about what materials and tools may be desirable for their specific classes. ​