Potters' Wheels Stilled After Fire

Two Months After Losing Access to Studio, Artists Continue Search for Space

Only a few dozen bowls and plates remain of the hundred pieces that were on sale at Eastern Market Pottery before a fire two months ago led the vendors to close the doors.

Potters still display them every Saturday at the venerable outdoor market but take them home and pile up the green and blue earthenware pieces in their guest rooms.

But the supply is dwindling. Although the studio was untouched by the flames, it was one of 14 stalls in the damaged South Hall, and it would be a safety hazard to work there.

So even now, the potters have not fired up a new batch of pottery because they haven't found a place large enough and with sufficient electricity to power their kilns.

"I haven't worked for six weeks," said Audrey Jones, 70, one of the studio's teachers. She had about 200 pieces of pottery in the studio when the fire broke out. She has only 40 pieces left now, stored at her Capitol Hill home.

Eastern Market Pottery had been an established part of the market for four decades. The potters sold functional pieces and colorful artistic creations. The four professional potters also taught about 30 students during biweekly classes.

It was "an integral part of the market and D.C.," said Charles Allen, chief of staff for D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6).

Initially, they thought they had escaped unscathed. "The feeling was that we were fine," said Susan Jacobs, 63, a teacher associated with the studio for 38 years. "Everyone thought that we were going back."

But a few days later, when the reconstruction activities started, they learned that they couldn't return.

The studio had two entrances. The main one opened inside the South Hall, which was closed for repair. The second led to the outside, into the middle of a facade reconstruction. For safety reasons, they could use neither.

"We were fine until someone looked and said, 'Wait a minute, how are they going into the building?' " Jacobs said.

To accommodate most of the displaced vendors, the city is providing temporary space near Eastern Market.