By SCOTT NILES

Courier staff writer

ALBIA — Eric Stearns has two passions — math and art.

Put those two interests together and the result is a beautiful collection of pottery in his Albia studio on the downtown square.

Stearns recently completed his master’s degree in fine arts at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan., after earning a bachelor’s degree from Doane College in Crete, Neb.

Early on, Stearns’ desire was to be a math teacher, and that was his focus when he began his studies at Doane College.

But during that time at Doane, he realized he had more interest in perfecting his grids and connecting the patterns, thus a calling of sorts to create ceramic pottery.

“I do a lot with lines and patterns,” he said. “For me, ceramics is a way to express myself.”

And that expression has taken form in a relatively new style of pottery making — American Raku — created in the 1960s by artist Paul Soldner.

Raku is different from traditional ceramic pottery because of the way in which the pottery is heated and cooled. The result is a beautiful smoky-colored pottery that can be decorated and glazed in any fashion.

The Raku style focuses on heating the pottery to roughly 1,800 degrees and then cooling it rather quickly to create a smoke-like effect in the pattern.

Following in that same style, Stearns has learned the technique and put his own spin on it.

Stearns labels himself a “perfectionist.” Every piece has to look just the way he wants it; every line, every detail has to be perfect.

“If I’m not happy with it I will just break it and throw it in the Dumpster,” he said.

His studio is filled with dozens of ceramic vases, pots and other clay-based pottery; each piece is an original design.