Mount Rainier ceramics artist Joe Hicks has built an outdoor kiln at his home studio, part of a growing pottery scene along the Route 1 corridor.
An art professor at Marymount University in Arlington, Hicks has long made pottery using a variation on the traditional Japanese glaze called Shino, which is fired at a lower temperature for a longer period of time.
Made out of brick and wood on top of a concrete pad, the kiln can reach higher than 2,000 degrees, producing soot that can end up settling in the glaze to create distinctive designs, a process known as “carbon trap.”
“The results are always unique and ‘one of a kind,’ which is why I’m fascinated to work with this method,” he explained recently. “It persistently provides an opportunity for the unexpected.”
Hicks shares photos and videos of his pottery on Instagram and has taught workshops on carbon-trap Shino glazes at the District Clay Center at 2414 Douglas St NE, not far from Woodridge.
You can also see the kiln in person at one of his regular open studio events at 3709 37th St. in Mount Rainier, or buy a piece of pottery from his online store.
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