The Lee Dam Center for Fine Art is open, and ceramic work by Eric Stearns is now on exhibit.

Stearns grew up on a farm, and you can see that influence in the way his pieces are built. There’s a quiet order to the lines and symmetry, the same kind of measured rhythm you see in rows laid out across a field. Up close, the surfaces shift from smooth pattern to smoky, crackled texture, thanks to raku, a process where pottery is pulled from the kiln while it is still glowing hot and then transformed by smoke as it cools. Every piece comes out a little different.

Stearns says the goal of his work is emotional connection. “My work is created to strike a chord with the viewer, conveying a fragile and fleeting existence,” he said, describing how raku helps him speak to themes of fragility, connection and fracture. 

He also draws on an interest in mathematics to build patterns and explore how color and glaze texture can change what a person feels when looking at a piece.

Stearns earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Fort Hays State University in 2008 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Doane College in 2003. He is now professor of art and chair of the Department of Art and Design at Doane University in Crete, Nebraska.