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How Long Do You Like To Be In The Studio?


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A few hours? An afternoon? The entire day? Do you have a mental or physical cap that prevents working endlessly?

 

Most days I cannot get enough, and try to be in the studio 10-15 hours a week. It is tough working full time and taking care of my family and large (and growing) garden. Throwing I can only do for an hour straight, afterwards I have to trim, glaze, or draw out my ideas. My wrists are weak and my back suffers in almost any position on the wheel.

 

 

There are honestly not enough hours in the day! Sometimes I feel I am sacrificing a little too much time away from my husband, but he knows how clay makes me feel and I usually make it up to him :rolleyes:

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When I worked and was raising a family I was in the studio about 15 hours a week.  Now that I don't work anymore  I am in my studio 30 to 60 hours a week.  The amount of time I spend out there depends on what life throws at me.  Right now I have a bad head cold sinus infection  going on, but I am still managing a couple of hours a day. When winter moves in I will be hibernating in my studio until spring,  I am getting ready to stock up on clay.   Denice

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Depends. 

 

If i am working on a project then i try to be in the studio for as much time as i can spare till the project is done. every spare moment that life affords me. even sleep.

 

right now i am in school. so i get to be in the studio at least 15 hours a week. if i have any spare time then i go back there as much as i can. i have a small handbuilding studio at home. i have given up sleep to complete my 'project/experiment'.

 

however i limit my job to approximately an hour. and then take a break. i've been working on series and trying out shapes so i never allow myself more than 10 balls of clay for a cup or 5 balls for anything else. if i want to continue i  have to wedge more before i can. 

 

because everytime i've gone over an hour at the wheel, when i got up from the wheel i was woozy and unsteady and almost blind from focusing so hard. while throwing i dont talk to anyone or even look around. i am not even aware when the music started or stopped. however this is only when i am experimenting and trying to figure out what i am doing. if i am doing a repetitious task then i chat and joke while throwing. after an hour glazing (because i have so many projects in my head since i have access to so many glazes, even though i've pared them down to a few) i feel overwhelmed and brain dead and have to take a break. i feel very discombobulated. otherwise i could happily work for hours in the studio. the most i have done for a week was 60 hours on weekdays when my daughter was away. i loved every minute of it. 

 

last semester when i had more time on my hands i would be in the studio every weekday for at least 5 hours.

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I work IN the studio on average about 7 hours a day 6 days a week. I work on other aspects of pottery like design sketching, photographing, listings, shows, jewelry assembling, packing orders, etc another 2-4 hours 7 days a week. If I could be in there 24/7/365 I would be!

 

T

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I *like* to be in there until my butt gets cold. I work in a basement, so these days that's until about supper time. If I have to go down after that, I bring a microwaveable hot pack to put above my kidneys, because handle attaching waits for no one.

 

Have you tried a soft pillow with a electric blanket? The blankets can have covers applied for easy washing, and it would keep you nice and toasty!

 

I use a plastic covered cushion similar to what you would use at a sports game or outdoor concert. It has helped the soreness.

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I was in the studio 10 hours today and back out numerous times tonight before last glaze kiln was turned off. Typical day for me could be any day of the week which is 7 days long.

Today trimmed pots threw pots sponged pots fired pots mixed a glaze moved pots.

 X-mas day starts my time off and it seems a long ways out still .Then its a 6-8 weeks off with some tax work thrown in a zero studio time.

If you are thinking about how many hours in the studio as a full timer then its not for you.

I have zero experience as a hobbyist . In that case whatever feels good would be my guess.

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heating pads are wonderful.  you can slip one on your waist toward the back and hold it in place with a sweater or even a belt if you have to.  makes a huge difference.

This is more or less what I do with a homemade magic bag. No cord that way. My studio gets horrible this time of year. Something about a small room with a lot of evaporation going on. :P My Christmas present to myself this year will be a radiant space heater.

 

I truly enjoy clay, but past a certain point, my enjoyment is immaterial. It's my job. It may be a dream job, but that doesn't mean it's not work. I still have to show up and do the reclaim in a 5 gallon bucket with a drill and a paint mixer. Boring! That part was yesterday, with a number of other housekeeping and finishing items. Throwing 20 yarn jars is what is going to get me out of bed tomorrow, because I'm excited about that part. That and firing my first bisque in my very own kiln!!

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It is funny... back when I was working for someone else and in the "more normal life" most of my free time was wisely spent in the studio. It was always in social venues. I found I could never actually make pottery for more than about 6 hours without feeling fried.

 

Now I own a teaching studio and it makes enough money. All my time is free time. I theoretically could spend every minute there. But I don't. I show up at regular hours and go home on time. Frequently I am at a loss for what I could be doing next. Still, each month more fresh finished work is made and the ideas come to life. Having the right five minutes for your own projects is the critical part.

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Yes today is bit like above post as I have to go to the DMV to straighten out on of my 9 vehicle /boat /trailer titles. Seems they made a mistake ion it a few years ago. That will get me out of the studio for a few hours in middle of day.I have not left the property for days.

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Usually I am in the studio on certain days, two to three days a week so I try and stay a little longer to get things completed. I might use Wednesdays as my throwing day and then Sunday for minimal throwing, glazing, and trimming. It just depends but I like having time in between so I can let the drying process happen naturally.

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Yes today is bit like above post as I have to go to the DMV to straighten out on of my 9 vehicle /boat /trailer titles. Seems they made a mistake ion it a few years ago. That will get me out of the studio for a few hours in middle of day.I have not left the property for days.

 

Bayliners, powerboats, sailboats? ;D I was living in Morro Bay on a boat for the last almost 2 years.

 

If I was not already working my dream job as a graphic designer, I would probably be doing clay full time. But alas, I have too many hobbies to keep track of and often times too little an attention span to enjoy them for as long as I would like to. It's not that I get bored, I just remember something I wanted to go home and paint, or draw, or plant in the garden, or clean my car, or cook dinner, or feed the cat.... where was I going again?

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well I am usually there in the afternoons about 5 days a week. But our studio is a group one so I spend time socializing and looking at other people's stuff and generally having a good time. Also I take care of a lot of business stuff for the place.  So I really goof around a lot. What I really need is to spend several hours cleaning and putting stuff away and getting stuff out of there that no longer needs to be there. 

 

a full day is pretty much out of the question. My hands get too sore. Tonight I stay late due to gallery board meeting at 6.   Probably will stop by the wine bar before then.  

 

Winter is coming which means lots of rain here so the bisque kilns keep the place warm and inviting.   Rakuku

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 But alas, I have too many hobbies to keep track of and often times too little an attention span to enjoy them for as long as I would like to. It's not that I get bored, I just remember something I wanted to go home and paint, or draw, or plant in the garden, or clean my car, or cook dinner, or feed the cat.... where was I going again?

 

 

 

 

I'm with Sydney, too many hobbies etc: by the time I get where I'm going, I want /need to be somewhere else.

 

My studio time could be anywhere from two minutes to two hours.

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I haven't been in there long enough yet.

 

Last week I went in there to trim some stuff when I got home work (mid night)

I thought I'd be about an hour. The next thing I knew, I heard the birds,

(6:45am), I leave to go to work at 1:45Pm. Oops!!!!

 

I have gone to AA & NA Been clean & sober fer about 30 years, What next??

CLAY Anonymous??!?!?

 

graybeard

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"Last week I went in there to trim some stuff when I got home work (mid night)
I thought I'd be about an hour. The next thing I knew, I heard the birds,
(6:45am), I leave to go to work at 1:45Pm. Oops!!!!"

 

 

A lot of night owls it seems. My class is open 8am until 10pm mon-thurs. But I sacrifice very little for my sleep. I love naps. I love to sleep. It keeps me refreshed, motivated, puts my problems into perspective.... if I was forced to only work late nights (past 11pm-early morning) on kiln loads I would not be a very happy camper. I would much rather do things during the day.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My "studio" is the porch. Open to the elements with a tin roof. So a lot depends on weather and temperature.  Usually I start about 8am, after a walk. Throw or decorate until 2pm. Lie down (sleep!) for a couple of hours, I have back issues and this limits my work.  After a rest I'll usually go back out for a couple of hours.

 

I don't work, this is a hobby, but it's a full time hobby I tend to think of it as my job, but it's definitely my passion.

 

Andrea

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Been spending about 9-10 hours a day lately not counting firing in the evenings (gas kilns).

Thats 6 days a week recently as well. Hey its xmas season in the pottery world for those who make a living at it. December is my biggest month and it takes lots of preparation to have near unlimited product to sell through. Been firing two glaze fires a week past 3 weeks with the 4th ones this week.

I was out an recent sales outlet and a person said wow this is great work for a hobby-I had to correct them as its been a over 40 year career.

This year is my last for a few shows as next year I'm cutting two out. I have a slow down plan set in motion about 5 years ago and I'm sticking to my plan.

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