In our State-of-the-Art Spaces series, we’ll show you academic spaces all over the Colorado State University campus that boast unique features and technology to enhance learning, allow students to engage in hands-on experiences, and more. Get an inside look at CSU’s state-of-the-art spaces now.
The Colorado State University pottery studio is a large, multi-room building doused in light and boasting open space to spread out, learn, and create. Located in CSU’s Visual Arts complex, the pottery building’s features and size allow for optimum exploration and mastery of every aspect of pottery, from throwing and handbuilding to the making of clays and glazes, firing pots and sculptures, and beyond.
The main learning space in the pottery studio houses many wheels, large tables, and wall-to-wall shelving to aid in the lengthy process of slow drying pottery. Tucked within the studio, you’ll find a room dedicated to clay mixing and clay reclaim (re-hydrating old clay so it’s new again), as well as a room dedicated to glaze chemistry and mixing, with hundreds of chemicals and glaze recipes. Beyond the main learning spaces, a kiln room holds seven electric kilns and several more gas kilns to allow students to experiment with the different types of firing. Just outside the studio, you’ll find massive wood-fire kilns and reduction kilns, where students can fire large forms and glazes that require higher temperatures.
- Who studies here: Most art majors will spend time in the pottery studio — both first-year art students who are exploring the 10 concentrations, as well as pottery and sculpture majors who focus the bulk of their time in clay work.
- Built: Originally, the Visual Arts complex was built in 1973, but was updated and expanded three times since its inception, the last in 2014.
- Location: South-central area of campus, next to the stadium. See map for exact position.
