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: I bought a Groupon but I don't see anything about the two one hour sessions on your website?
A: Thanks! We had a great response to our Groupon. The details are up on the website at the top of the classes section. As you probably saw, the additional materials fee for the two one-hour sessions is $15 per Groupon. You will be doing a handbuilding project the first hour (making something you can ultimately take home) and then the following week (or two?), you'll come back and glaze the product. And again, thanks for the purchase!
Q: I bought the Groupon for the 8-week wheel throwing class, what do I do now?
A: Thanks to you too! You should check out our classes page and see which wheel throwing class works best for your schedule. You can email us with your name, address, phone number (in case we need to reach you the day of class), return email address (if different than the one you sent from) and which class WHL1-section number along with the day of the week, time of day and when it starts (to make sure we all are on the same page) and include your groupon number and barcode number. We'll contact you and let you know the details! If there aren't any classes that fit in your schedule before the Groupon expires at the end of June, email us all the details and we'll extend your Groupon through the end of the year. We had such a great response we cannot physically accommodate everyone before the end of June.
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: We have one Sharpie Marker (11 years old), see her photo on our pet sitter's Tim's website www.summitpetsittinginc.com - She is on the Pet Sitting Forms page (it's a picture with her sister, Sasha who sadly passed away Fall 2010 at the ripe old age of 15). 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 do have air conditioning and it's made our studio much more tolerable this summer. It really cuts the humidity down.
Q: Is it warm in the winter?
A: Here in New England it generally isn't too warm in the winter, but our studio is equipped with heat. We are located in an old mill building, so it can be drafty. Dress warm!
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). And no, he didn't write the Groupon copy (even though it kind of sounded like him).
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: When are your pottery sales?
A: We have studio pottery sales every Spring, Fall and Winter Holiday season. The Spring sale is normally in May, but in 2012 it will be the first weekend of June (June 2nd & 3rd). Our Fall sale is usually part of the Open Studios: Pawtucket event and this year I think it will be September 22nd & 23rd). Finally, our Winter Holiday sale always starts the first weekend in December and runs for three consecutive weekends (December 1st & 2nd, 8th & 9th, and 15th & 16th). John's work is always for sale at our studio, it's just not on display, but if you want to purchase something, let us know and we'll check out what he's been working on.
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 one old dog that we just adore (We've had her since she was eight-weeks old). 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 Bonnie McKenna, Norma Anderson, Lee Kossin, Amanda Amoroso, 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.