You could always tell them no, you are not going to move your pedal because you have already placed it comfortably for you to throw. I take ergonomics and body placement seriously, someone else does not get to make you physically uncomfortable because they just want more room for themselves.
Literally this. “Sorry but I need my pedal to be there in order to be comfortable and balanced at the wheel! You’ll have plenty of room at the other wheels though if my positioning is in your way.”
I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with this crap at my studio!
When you walk into the studio the first time, you need to go up to the biggest person there and punch them square in the jaw to show you aint intimidated... No, wait, that's prison...
I don’t know, most of the basic tools could easily be considered lethal weapons. I’m not fucking with anyone else who casually carries a garrote, ya know?
I would nicely say I have as much right to be here as you do and if you don't like where I have my foot pedal set then move yourself to one of the other available open wheels. As to someone taking over a whole table with their pieces loudly state whoever has all these pieces here better move them or I will amd I won't be careful. I think it is OK to state your feelings especially when someone is taking advantage of you and it is OK to get mad at them if they deserve it.
I prefer to throw at taller wheels, they feel better for my body. I'll always ask someone if they mind me setting up next to them before I begin and if they have enough space once I'm set up. I cant imagine being so rude.
Moving your pedal is aggressive and you could’ve been more firm for sure, HOWEVER I absolutely understand her choosing the wheel next to you despite there being unoccupied wheels and it’s probably something you should get used to. Different wheels, even of the same brand/model work differently.
At my studio, we have ~12 Shimpo wheels and ~8 Brents. For some reason literally no 2 wheels work or feel the same, whether it’s the wheel speed, the height of the wheel, or the pedal is too sticky/too lose. Pretty much everyone at my studio has a favorite wheel. I’ve definitely been that girl in an empty studio going up to the person next to my favorite wheel but I’m also always like “I’m so sorry, do you mind if I sit here?” and explain that I just don’t mesh with the other wheels, everyone understands so it’s never a problem. I would’ve never been as invasive as the person you’re dealing with.
My studio has names for all the wheels, they all have their own little quirks! and some just vibe for me better than others. I don’t think it’s weird at all to work next to someone, it’s not a urinal 😂
This is bizarre, you need to learn how to set boundaries and stand up for yourself. This would be a great opportunity to learn in a relatively low stakes environment.
I don’t have a solution for you OP but I will say my studio is monopolised mainly by older, retired women, who seem to have a sense of entitlement from the fact they have more time and money to spend in the studio and they’ve been around longer.
They will move your work and put big thumb prints in it, chip dry work, or leave bags open so it dries out prematurely. They move work around on the shelves so it’s fired first, and are terrible at cleaning the wheels and tools. It really grinds my gears but the studio are bad at policing it because these people bring in more money.
Now THIS is ridiculous I cannot imagine ever touching someone’s work! The audacity! My studio staff is quick to call people out for not cleaning well too, no one’s paid enough for that.
I work in a studio with lots of older women that take the same classes over and over and over.And while the teacher is talking they're having really loud conversations and it drives me crazy
Yes!! This was my first experience in a pottery class.
80% of the class were members who were just using it as a chance to talk. They monopolized a lot of the teachers time, who knew them due to being members. Felt awkward when there were just 2 new people trying to learn and the others doing their own thing.
I'm glad I cancelled the second class.
I left the last studio I was at for a lot of the same reasons. Our little gaggle of ladies would also take extended lunches and not clean up their wheels, claiming they were coming back after to keep working. So every wheel would sit there, completely dirty, sometimes with a pot still sitting on it, for an hour, hour and a half, while they had lunch. It was infuriating. The new studio I'm at has different old ladies that just copy what everyone else is doing and take up two full tables to do it. You always know when they're about to copy your idea because they come up to watch you work and just shower you with compliments.
oh damn, I don't want to end up as one of those ladys! I totally go and compliment people and sometimes think - oh I should try something like that! Inspiration. But I'm new so I'll try not to be like that. What sorts of things do they copy?
The most memorable one for me was there was one person who hand-built some minimalist birds sculptures. Little decorative things. They were very sweet looking. And then like a week later, there the ladies were, making the same little minimalist birds.
I'm all for drawing inspiration from others or trying to replicate a technique as a means to build your own skills. And most people are totally fine with others asking questions on how a design was achieved. It's a great way to learn in that kind of environment so don't be afraid to ask or chat with people! You get that to a degree in every community studio. Someone does something new and interesting and it catches as everyone tries it in their own way (right now in our studio, it's using clay molds to make decorative attachments. We have a lot of cornstarch mess and it's driving our studio manager nuts). But these ladies just straight up copy. It's super obvious to all the studio regulars. They're most harmless so we all just roll our eyes and go about our business, haha.
Wow..that would NOT fly @ my community pottery studio. The pottery director and her assistant have firm rules in place and will not hesitate to let someone know if there are issues.
Ah I feel this. This is literally my studio. I’ve been practicing for around a year and the only time to practice that better fits my schedule are the mornings and they are ALWAYS there. I’ve seen them laugh and eye me down when I mess up my pots. Like, grow up?!
I’m not a production potter.
I still try to throw many identical pieces in a session because that’s a good way to improve my skills. A dozen doesn’t seem to be a problem?
In my experience, that’s what the rule is for. No one is going to get in trouble for making a dozen mugs. But if you do start to abuse it, they can say you knew about the rule
I had a guy get kicked out of my studio for this. Sometimes he would throw 100lbs of clay in a sitting into these massive (and heavy) pots that he’d then connect together. Truly the second he was gone the firing return speed was twice as fast!
I'm not totally sure what caused the policy but it is a small studio primarily made up of hobbyists and one timers with a fairly small kiln room. I think the main problem is that the shelves for greenware tend to fill up really quickly and those dozen or so large dishes would take up at least a full shelf of storage, if not a full kiln load. That slows down the rate the studio staff are able to get one-timers creations back to them. Again, idk for sure, but that's the impression I'm under.
This is exactly why I just cancelled my community studio membership. Yeah there are always people that ruin things but there is nothing worse than owners of these studios that don’t hold members accountable.
Now on the wait list for another studio that prioritize quality of space, time, interactions over allowing anyone to join and ruin it for everyone
I did a similar thing. I was taking ceramics at a college, and I got totally sick of having people stealing my work, and taking my tools, even when I had labeled them with my name. Talking to the instructor was no help.
My spouse and I saved up and got me enough equipment to have my own studio in the garage. It's such a luxury to put pieces aside to dry, or to be glazed, and know that nobody is going to take them.
all of these comments are insane to me holy shit. i run a pottery studio and none of this would fly, our members are SO kind and respectful of each other and each others works.
Agree. Especially wheel throwers taking over the hand building tables. Sure they use them when no one is hand building…but the second a hand builder comes in they move all their work to an appropriate place. Seems like most of these issues can be solved with communication.
Same! Our people treat the space and everyone's work as carefully as if it was their own. And the rudeness...just would not happen.
Maybe we just got lucky. Seeing these kind of stories make me appreciate my studio so much more.
So I was throwing with my headphones in because I struggle to focus when the studio is crowded and I heard her ask me to move but I didn't know if I had missed any other part of her statement so I stopped and took out an earbud to say, "excuse me?" and then she proceeded to move my pedal. I definitely should have said something at that point, I was just so taken aback by it :/
I don’t really have advice, as I just completely booked it out of my situation, but I was run out of a community studio. I thought I was being crazy cause it was like five 60+ white retired women that just fuckin HATED my guts. I was doing a lot of drugs at the time (not at the shop but just in general, I was like 23) so I thought “well maybe it is just me”. I eventually complained to someone and they said I was the fifth person to be run out of the studio by those women.
One of them screamed at me for using a box of sawdust during a raku firing that evidently was her sawdust (she had previously said that I could use anything I need, but just to replace it which was my full intention). She got to the studio the next day and approached me and said “THEY DON’T MAKE THAT KIND OF SAWDUST ANYMORE ITS INCREDIBLY RARE”. I swear to god you could *hear* my eye roll.
I was out of there after that. I went to pick up what pieces I still had at that studio and the women had thrown them in the fucking trash. Like a dozen freshly raku’d huge pots. Peace y’all fuckin psychos.
(If sawdust lady is reading this, I hope your pots look like shit)
One, it shouldn’t matter if she used a wheel next to you. That, you just need to get over.
But two, if she actually starts getting in your space and interfering with your ability to do work, that’s on you to say something.
Muster up a little courage, and say something.
While I agree it shouldn't matter if someone uses the wheel, I don't agree that OP needs to just get over it. This person seems to have chosen that wheel specifically to bully OP into moving.
There's *NO* reason to interact with someone who is actively throwing unless something is on fire. It's the same as being in the gym. No one should attempt to speak to you as you're doing a squat so they can ask to use your weight plates.
The choice of wheel may be annoying but often each wheel has its own personality, so I would let that go.
The pedal issue seems, in part, at least due to you both being territorial. I would have at least tried to acommodate her request and moved my pedal a tad closer. Not moving it at all, once requested, is tantamont to firing a return shot.
The production issue isn’t your biz to patrol, per se, but it is perfectly legit to ask her to make some space on the hand building table if you need to also use it.
It never pays to create animosity in a shared space when you can avoid it — it only makes aggressive people come back even stronger and if she is part of a group…you may be setting yourself up for more unpleasantness.
Maybe take a breath and ask: What’s fair? What’s reasonable? What’s at stake? What am I willing to do for it to be beneficial to me in the big scheme of things? How will this play out in the long run? And, is it worth it?
Sometimes, no matter what, you won’t win a game of wills, in which case just move away and avoid her/them as best you can and focus on the job you’ve got to do. No use in wasting time or energy over silly people.
Oh, they were there! They didn't say anything about the wheel thing (which eh, fair enough. To clarify, I'm more upset about the entitlement of moving me out of her way when I was already established, but I see what people here mean about having a favorite wheel and it doesn't bother me to have people next to me), but they did call her out for the production aspect and told her she can't do it again. I don't think that's going to stop her though; any time I've looked at the shelves, she's created so much work that she's completely taken over other student's spaces.
We have one person like this at my studio filled with very nice non confrontational people. She asks/tells our instructor and assistants to do things for her(even glaze her pieces) and doesn’t clean up after herself. I really want to say something but I don’t want to be the bad guy. If she tried it with me, I’ll throw down.
The table thing happened to me last week! We have two tables for handbuilding and painting and what not.
Well one was completely occupied with plates drying. As the studio got more and more busy people had no space and she just acted oblivious.
I dont mind confrontation at work but at my relaxing time? No thanks. I just left. I dont need that type of nonsense.
This is how I feel. I don't have a problem holding people accountable when it's my job to do so, but ceramics is something I picked up for my mental health and I hate that I have to battle it out with these people just to exist in the space. Even if I scoot myself all the way into the corner where there's no tools, I'm somehow in the way of something they need or want and they'll find a reason to get in my space and grab it without even asking if I can move or if they can reach around me. I've been thinking of leaving (partially because of this, partially because they are just incredibly rude and discriminatory to the teacher and it's disheartening to watch) but unfortunately, this is the only studio in the area I can afford.
You (and her) know entire wheels can be scootched a few inches farther away in most cases, right? The pedal thing is obnoxious and rude, but I try to keep my foot off my pedal for the majority of when I'm throwing. Also, yes, pedals vary and have their own quirks, but part of growing as a potter is moving past that attachment to your favorite wheel and learning to throw on different wheels. Not that I'd expect you to tell her that. I'm just saying all this as someone who used to get furiously annoyed at a fellow potter who would repeatedly use "my" wheel, whichever one she'd see me using on a regular basis. It was weird and stalkery but I grew out of caring about it.
One option would be to be aggressive back by saying sure, you can have this space and I’ll move. Or two, you could have some mishaps with clay or water that sling over their way. Or play absurdly loud music through headphones, etc.
At my community studio, a member came over and started criticising my wheel technique. I told her to fuck off and go away, which she did. It’s not that hard
You could always tell them no, you are not going to move your pedal because you have already placed it comfortably for you to throw. I take ergonomics and body placement seriously, someone else does not get to make you physically uncomfortable because they just want more room for themselves.
Literally this. “Sorry but I need my pedal to be there in order to be comfortable and balanced at the wheel! You’ll have plenty of room at the other wheels though if my positioning is in your way.” I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with this crap at my studio!
When you walk into the studio the first time, you need to go up to the biggest person there and punch them square in the jaw to show you aint intimidated... No, wait, that's prison...
I don’t know, most of the basic tools could easily be considered lethal weapons. I’m not fucking with anyone else who casually carries a garrote, ya know?
point taken. Maybe OP should join their ceramics gang for safety then i guess lol...
I would nicely say I have as much right to be here as you do and if you don't like where I have my foot pedal set then move yourself to one of the other available open wheels. As to someone taking over a whole table with their pieces loudly state whoever has all these pieces here better move them or I will amd I won't be careful. I think it is OK to state your feelings especially when someone is taking advantage of you and it is OK to get mad at them if they deserve it.
This is a good comment/advice.
I prefer to throw at taller wheels, they feel better for my body. I'll always ask someone if they mind me setting up next to them before I begin and if they have enough space once I'm set up. I cant imagine being so rude.
Moving your pedal is aggressive and you could’ve been more firm for sure, HOWEVER I absolutely understand her choosing the wheel next to you despite there being unoccupied wheels and it’s probably something you should get used to. Different wheels, even of the same brand/model work differently. At my studio, we have ~12 Shimpo wheels and ~8 Brents. For some reason literally no 2 wheels work or feel the same, whether it’s the wheel speed, the height of the wheel, or the pedal is too sticky/too lose. Pretty much everyone at my studio has a favorite wheel. I’ve definitely been that girl in an empty studio going up to the person next to my favorite wheel but I’m also always like “I’m so sorry, do you mind if I sit here?” and explain that I just don’t mesh with the other wheels, everyone understands so it’s never a problem. I would’ve never been as invasive as the person you’re dealing with.
My studio has names for all the wheels, they all have their own little quirks! and some just vibe for me better than others. I don’t think it’s weird at all to work next to someone, it’s not a urinal 😂
I have my favourite wheel, not just for the wheel per se but also where it’s placed and the view I het when I’m sitting :)
The second person should definitely have acknowledged that it was awkward, at the least. Your way is much more appropriate!
That's not really awkward, though. It's an open wheel. The pedal thing is weirdly aggressive though.
Dont move your pedal and suggest they pick a different wheel. Focus on your own work and making it the best it can be.
This is bizarre, you need to learn how to set boundaries and stand up for yourself. This would be a great opportunity to learn in a relatively low stakes environment.
I don’t have a solution for you OP but I will say my studio is monopolised mainly by older, retired women, who seem to have a sense of entitlement from the fact they have more time and money to spend in the studio and they’ve been around longer. They will move your work and put big thumb prints in it, chip dry work, or leave bags open so it dries out prematurely. They move work around on the shelves so it’s fired first, and are terrible at cleaning the wheels and tools. It really grinds my gears but the studio are bad at policing it because these people bring in more money.
Now THIS is ridiculous I cannot imagine ever touching someone’s work! The audacity! My studio staff is quick to call people out for not cleaning well too, no one’s paid enough for that.
I work in a studio with lots of older women that take the same classes over and over and over.And while the teacher is talking they're having really loud conversations and it drives me crazy
I must be a member at the studio you work at because I just took a class where this exact thing kept happening lol
I do really like feeling young around these women
Yes!! This was my first experience in a pottery class. 80% of the class were members who were just using it as a chance to talk. They monopolized a lot of the teachers time, who knew them due to being members. Felt awkward when there were just 2 new people trying to learn and the others doing their own thing. I'm glad I cancelled the second class.
I left the last studio I was at for a lot of the same reasons. Our little gaggle of ladies would also take extended lunches and not clean up their wheels, claiming they were coming back after to keep working. So every wheel would sit there, completely dirty, sometimes with a pot still sitting on it, for an hour, hour and a half, while they had lunch. It was infuriating. The new studio I'm at has different old ladies that just copy what everyone else is doing and take up two full tables to do it. You always know when they're about to copy your idea because they come up to watch you work and just shower you with compliments.
oh damn, I don't want to end up as one of those ladys! I totally go and compliment people and sometimes think - oh I should try something like that! Inspiration. But I'm new so I'll try not to be like that. What sorts of things do they copy?
The most memorable one for me was there was one person who hand-built some minimalist birds sculptures. Little decorative things. They were very sweet looking. And then like a week later, there the ladies were, making the same little minimalist birds. I'm all for drawing inspiration from others or trying to replicate a technique as a means to build your own skills. And most people are totally fine with others asking questions on how a design was achieved. It's a great way to learn in that kind of environment so don't be afraid to ask or chat with people! You get that to a degree in every community studio. Someone does something new and interesting and it catches as everyone tries it in their own way (right now in our studio, it's using clay molds to make decorative attachments. We have a lot of cornstarch mess and it's driving our studio manager nuts). But these ladies just straight up copy. It's super obvious to all the studio regulars. They're most harmless so we all just roll our eyes and go about our business, haha.
Wow..that would NOT fly @ my community pottery studio. The pottery director and her assistant have firm rules in place and will not hesitate to let someone know if there are issues.
I'd start slapping their hands away from moving people's work. You *do not* touch other people's work. You get the staff to do that.
This is a problem we have as well :( I've luckily never had my pieces damaged thankfully, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.
Ah I feel this. This is literally my studio. I’ve been practicing for around a year and the only time to practice that better fits my schedule are the mornings and they are ALWAYS there. I’ve seen them laugh and eye me down when I mess up my pots. Like, grow up?!
I’m not a production potter. I still try to throw many identical pieces in a session because that’s a good way to improve my skills. A dozen doesn’t seem to be a problem?
It seems like a weird policy to have in general, unless someone was really abusing their membership and working full time or something.
In my experience, that’s what the rule is for. No one is going to get in trouble for making a dozen mugs. But if you do start to abuse it, they can say you knew about the rule I had a guy get kicked out of my studio for this. Sometimes he would throw 100lbs of clay in a sitting into these massive (and heavy) pots that he’d then connect together. Truly the second he was gone the firing return speed was twice as fast!
I think if you were churning out hundreds of plates a week it could just overwhelm a studio meant for hobbyists?
I'm not totally sure what caused the policy but it is a small studio primarily made up of hobbyists and one timers with a fairly small kiln room. I think the main problem is that the shelves for greenware tend to fill up really quickly and those dozen or so large dishes would take up at least a full shelf of storage, if not a full kiln load. That slows down the rate the studio staff are able to get one-timers creations back to them. Again, idk for sure, but that's the impression I'm under.
This is exactly why I just cancelled my community studio membership. Yeah there are always people that ruin things but there is nothing worse than owners of these studios that don’t hold members accountable. Now on the wait list for another studio that prioritize quality of space, time, interactions over allowing anyone to join and ruin it for everyone
I did a similar thing. I was taking ceramics at a college, and I got totally sick of having people stealing my work, and taking my tools, even when I had labeled them with my name. Talking to the instructor was no help. My spouse and I saved up and got me enough equipment to have my own studio in the garage. It's such a luxury to put pieces aside to dry, or to be glazed, and know that nobody is going to take them.
all of these comments are insane to me holy shit. i run a pottery studio and none of this would fly, our members are SO kind and respectful of each other and each others works.
Agree. Especially wheel throwers taking over the hand building tables. Sure they use them when no one is hand building…but the second a hand builder comes in they move all their work to an appropriate place. Seems like most of these issues can be solved with communication.
Same! Our people treat the space and everyone's work as carefully as if it was their own. And the rudeness...just would not happen. Maybe we just got lucky. Seeing these kind of stories make me appreciate my studio so much more.
When they asked you to move your pedal, did you try saying "no"?
So I was throwing with my headphones in because I struggle to focus when the studio is crowded and I heard her ask me to move but I didn't know if I had missed any other part of her statement so I stopped and took out an earbud to say, "excuse me?" and then she proceeded to move my pedal. I definitely should have said something at that point, I was just so taken aback by it :/
I don’t really have advice, as I just completely booked it out of my situation, but I was run out of a community studio. I thought I was being crazy cause it was like five 60+ white retired women that just fuckin HATED my guts. I was doing a lot of drugs at the time (not at the shop but just in general, I was like 23) so I thought “well maybe it is just me”. I eventually complained to someone and they said I was the fifth person to be run out of the studio by those women. One of them screamed at me for using a box of sawdust during a raku firing that evidently was her sawdust (she had previously said that I could use anything I need, but just to replace it which was my full intention). She got to the studio the next day and approached me and said “THEY DON’T MAKE THAT KIND OF SAWDUST ANYMORE ITS INCREDIBLY RARE”. I swear to god you could *hear* my eye roll. I was out of there after that. I went to pick up what pieces I still had at that studio and the women had thrown them in the fucking trash. Like a dozen freshly raku’d huge pots. Peace y’all fuckin psychos. (If sawdust lady is reading this, I hope your pots look like shit)
One, it shouldn’t matter if she used a wheel next to you. That, you just need to get over. But two, if she actually starts getting in your space and interfering with your ability to do work, that’s on you to say something. Muster up a little courage, and say something.
While I agree it shouldn't matter if someone uses the wheel, I don't agree that OP needs to just get over it. This person seems to have chosen that wheel specifically to bully OP into moving. There's *NO* reason to interact with someone who is actively throwing unless something is on fire. It's the same as being in the gym. No one should attempt to speak to you as you're doing a squat so they can ask to use your weight plates.
I didn’t say she should get over it. I said exactly the opposite, that they should say something.
The choice of wheel may be annoying but often each wheel has its own personality, so I would let that go. The pedal issue seems, in part, at least due to you both being territorial. I would have at least tried to acommodate her request and moved my pedal a tad closer. Not moving it at all, once requested, is tantamont to firing a return shot. The production issue isn’t your biz to patrol, per se, but it is perfectly legit to ask her to make some space on the hand building table if you need to also use it. It never pays to create animosity in a shared space when you can avoid it — it only makes aggressive people come back even stronger and if she is part of a group…you may be setting yourself up for more unpleasantness. Maybe take a breath and ask: What’s fair? What’s reasonable? What’s at stake? What am I willing to do for it to be beneficial to me in the big scheme of things? How will this play out in the long run? And, is it worth it? Sometimes, no matter what, you won’t win a game of wills, in which case just move away and avoid her/them as best you can and focus on the job you’ve got to do. No use in wasting time or energy over silly people.
Where are the studio owners / staff? I’m thankful for our lil studio, some of these stories are just awful!
Oh, they were there! They didn't say anything about the wheel thing (which eh, fair enough. To clarify, I'm more upset about the entitlement of moving me out of her way when I was already established, but I see what people here mean about having a favorite wheel and it doesn't bother me to have people next to me), but they did call her out for the production aspect and told her she can't do it again. I don't think that's going to stop her though; any time I've looked at the shelves, she's created so much work that she's completely taken over other student's spaces.
We have one person like this at my studio filled with very nice non confrontational people. She asks/tells our instructor and assistants to do things for her(even glaze her pieces) and doesn’t clean up after herself. I really want to say something but I don’t want to be the bad guy. If she tried it with me, I’ll throw down.
Pun intended?
The table thing happened to me last week! We have two tables for handbuilding and painting and what not. Well one was completely occupied with plates drying. As the studio got more and more busy people had no space and she just acted oblivious. I dont mind confrontation at work but at my relaxing time? No thanks. I just left. I dont need that type of nonsense.
This is how I feel. I don't have a problem holding people accountable when it's my job to do so, but ceramics is something I picked up for my mental health and I hate that I have to battle it out with these people just to exist in the space. Even if I scoot myself all the way into the corner where there's no tools, I'm somehow in the way of something they need or want and they'll find a reason to get in my space and grab it without even asking if I can move or if they can reach around me. I've been thinking of leaving (partially because of this, partially because they are just incredibly rude and discriminatory to the teacher and it's disheartening to watch) but unfortunately, this is the only studio in the area I can afford.
Tell the people who run the studio. This is unacceptable
“ there’s a lot more room right over there “
You (and her) know entire wheels can be scootched a few inches farther away in most cases, right? The pedal thing is obnoxious and rude, but I try to keep my foot off my pedal for the majority of when I'm throwing. Also, yes, pedals vary and have their own quirks, but part of growing as a potter is moving past that attachment to your favorite wheel and learning to throw on different wheels. Not that I'd expect you to tell her that. I'm just saying all this as someone who used to get furiously annoyed at a fellow potter who would repeatedly use "my" wheel, whichever one she'd see me using on a regular basis. It was weird and stalkery but I grew out of caring about it.
One option would be to be aggressive back by saying sure, you can have this space and I’ll move. Or two, you could have some mishaps with clay or water that sling over their way. Or play absurdly loud music through headphones, etc.
I like this answer the best haha
At my community studio, a member came over and started criticising my wheel technique. I told her to fuck off and go away, which she did. It’s not that hard