Info
Welcome to Dew Claw Studios servicing potters from Rhode Island, Massachusetts & Connecticut. We offer a wide range of products, services, pottery classes for all levels and workshops intended to interest someone just starting out as well as the seasoned potter trying to blow out the cobwebs. If pottery classes or workshops don't interest you, but you are looking for a place to work, we have memberships by the day and by the month. For those of you with a home studio but no kiln, we have kiln firing packages as well.
Our hours of operation are 10am - 10pm Monday, Wednesday and Saturday
Classes and Workshops are as scheduled (and can take place on any day of the week except Fridays).
FAQ
Q: What is a Dew Claw?
A: A Dew Claw is the thumb of a dog or a cat. That little nail up the arm a little from the paw.
Q: Why Dew Claw?
A: Because we are convinced that if dogs (and we suppose cats) had opposable thumbs that they would indeed rule the world.
Q: How many dogs do you have?
A: Two at the moment - Sharpie & Sasha, see their photos on our pet sitter's Tim's website www.summitpetsittinginc.com - They are on the Pet Sitting Forms page. He's great by the way if you in the market for a good reliable pet sitter.
Q: Do you have air conditioning?
A: As a matter of fact, we just got air conditioning this summer (2010) and it's made our studio much more tolerable this summer. It really cuts the humidity down.
Q: John is so funny. Is there anywhere else I can see him?
A: He hasn't done much recently, but he and Jason have both appeared on PBS's Cultivating Life. They did a raku firing. It's very enjoyable. John also appears in the film Pawtucket Rising, a documentary of the artist resurgence in the mills in the Pawtucket Area. He's not as funny in this feature as the TV show, but he does look like a fisherman (you'll see what I mean)
Q: Are you currently hiring teachers?
A: We do not hire teachers, what we do is ask teachers to come up with class ideas and convince us that it will be a good class. If you convince us, then we'll put it on the schedule and see if others are interested.
Q: Do I have to get a whole bucket of glaze if I custom order it?
A: Not if it's one of our studio glazes, then we'll parse out a pint, quart or gallon for you from our batch. If it's your recipe, you can get any size you like. The mixing fees are static, so you save more money the larger the batch you get.
Q: Who are you guys?
A: John Mitchell & I (Kris Pedersen) are the owners and operators of Dew Claw Studios. We are married (August 2009) and live in Central Falls, where John grew up. I transplanted from Needham, MA to Rhode Island in 2001 and am just starting to be a Rhode Islander (yes, it is finally too far to drive to Warwick - are you crazy - through the city? that might take 20 minutes?). As seen above, we have two old dogs that we just adore (Sasha turned 15 this past Independence Day (2010), and Sharpie Marker will be 10 on Halloween). John's the potter and I'm the business lady.
Q: What's the history of the studio?
A: John & I started this studio back in 2002. We were a part of the dislocated workers from the .com (dot com) crash and decided that the Providence area needed a studio for beginner students, intermediate students and hobbyists to come and enjoy each other's company while learning all about clay. We wanted to provide a studio that would teach as much or as little as our customers wanted to learn. We have and do enjoy our members and students very much. Every person at Dew Claw brings something to our studio, and because of that, it is always changing. John is a constant presence in the studio, he is here most days and teaches most of the classes. I do a variety of miscellaneous things and come to the studio as much as possible. We have a lot of members who have been coming for 5 years or more and they have really become part of the Dew Claw Family - Jason Fong & Anna Highsmith are often called upon to represent our studio when we can't be around, as well as Akiko Omori, Bonnie McKenna, Norma Anderson Joshua Shockley, Judi (and Jane) Goudreau and Clayton Lanphear. We moved our studio from the South Elmwood area of Providence/Cranston to "the Mill at 545" on Pawtucket Avenue on the Pawtucket/Providence line back in 2006 and swore we would never move again (really, really heavy).
Send any questions or comments you have to Kris@dewclawstudios.com or John@dewclawstudios.com.