Union Project

Take a break from making ceramics at the Union Project and join City Theatre for their production of In Clay! It’s 1938, and the sounds of jazz underscore your walk through a musical about a brilliant woman whose husband gets credit for her work (What? Never.) But it's not really about that... It’s about a long-lost childhood friend who brings out the passion in you. It’s about the love of the art.

ALSO, decorating the walls of this world will be ceramic pots handcrafted by local artists from Union Project, which you'll be able to buy after the musical's run!

https://citytheatrecompany.org/production/106844/in-clay

The star of In Clay, Alex Finke (who sings, acts, AND throws) and the talented Grace Woolway (master of centering). Check out In Clay City Theatre Company now through Oct. 11.
In Clay

Union Project has two holiday sales opportunities in 2026 that are open to any ceramic artists who would like to apply: https://www.tfaforms.com/5235006

Handmade Arcade, Dec 4-6, is the region's largest holiday market featuring handmade gifts. UP brings the Wheel Mobile to do demonstrations and a curated selection of ceramics to sell.

The Winter Pottery Pop-Up will be held one week later on Saturday, December 12. This event will take place in our Great Hall and Atrium. There will be hot beverages and a Pittsburgh Cookie Table you could contribute to!

✅️ Fill out the form below in its entirety by Sunday, 10/11/2026 at 23:59. 🕛️

We would love to partner with your school or classroom to bring the experience of working with clay directly to your students. Our programming can take place on-site at your school, or you can bring your students to our newly renovated ceramic studios for a field-trip-style experience.

We are happy to collaborate with teachers to develop projects that connect to classroom curriculum, complement existing arts programming, or simply allow students to explore, create, and learn through clay.

Reach out to [email protected] to get the conversation started!

We just got a big delivery, which means it's time for some FUN FACTS (╭ರ_•́) :

Standard Clay Supply delivered 5,000 lbs of dry clay that Union Project mixes in with our reclaim. Each 50lb bag, when mixed with the clay slurry, makes about 125lbs of clay. Each barrel of clay that we mix weighs about 300-350lbs.

We typically use between 3 and 5 barrels per week, meaning we use 1000-1500 pounds of our mixed in-house clay weekly.

We also received 5,000 lbs of bagged (wet-premixed) clay: Brown Stoneware, White Stoneware, Porcelain, and Raku clay.

This clay is used for Wheel 101 classes, specialty classes (such as Soda and Raku firing classes), and all of our outreach and Wheelmobile programs.

Students and members purchase this clay from us to use in the studio as well. We do not allow any outside clay to be used in our studio. This prevents any clay bodies from melting if fired at an incorrect temperature.

BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE 🫥

A few 50lb bags of dry materials that are used to make our glazes were also in this order. The total order weighed 10,200lbs.

UP typically has these orders delivered to us at least 4 times per year.
Because of the recent shortage of many of the chemicals used in ceramics, we do have to order from other suppliers to meet the needs of our studio.

The use of mined chemicals by ceramic artists, in comparison to large corporations, accounts for minute portions of chemicals purchased.

The use of talc was discontinued in so many products that the mines in the US were closed permanently. All white low-fire clay bodies require talc (there is currently no substitution).

Almost every single school district in the US uses that particular clay for their Ceramics programs. Talc can now only be purchased if imported from other countries.

NOPE NOT DONE 👀

The overall cost of materials used in ceramics continues to rise due to issues such as these. Massive demand from huge corporations can create shortages of certain materials.

Ex) Lithium is used as an opacifier in glazes. Each 5-gallon bucket of glaze may require 1/10 of a pound of that material. A 5-gallon bucket is probably made 3 or 4 times per year.

The increase in the use of electric cars (which use lithium batteries) far surpasses what we use in ceramics.

Understanding chemistry and possessing the knowledge to alter it is an invaluable skill in ceramics. In our Ceramics Studio Manager's 27 years of experience, we have lost numerous mined materials. Fortunately, there are experts in the field who can create new formulas to mimic our favorite glaze recipes. Gotta keep everyone's favorite, Floating Blue, around...

Thank you for coming to our TED Talk (^_^)

Your weekend plans should include working on that piece you've been thinking about. Or maybe it's time to glaze (floating blue, for sure). We have plenty of spots open in this Sunday's Open Studio: unionproject.org/event/open-studio-7/

The cost of Open Studio includes clay, access to our shared studio, equipment, and materials. Plus, nothing beats working under stained glass windows.

We've partnered with ! Coming up later this month will be the premiere of In Clay, a play based on the life of ceramic artist Marie -Berthe Cazin. Union Project will have members' and teaching artists' works on stage as props! The best part...you'll have a chance to purchase the work that was featured on stage. In Clay starts September 19th at City Theater.