The Kiln Club of Washington DC

The Kiln Club of Washington DC is a membership club for ceramic artists in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, founded in 1946, that holds bi-monthly meetings and demonstrations and runs a juried members’ gallery at Scope Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia.

Official URL: https://www.kilnclubwdc.com/

Last checked: 2026-10-19

Category: Guild Also called: Kiln Club; The Kiln Club; Kiln Club of Washington, D.C.; Kiln Club DC; kilnclubwdc.com

Who it’s for

Potters and ceramic fans around Washington, D.C. The home page says the club “is open to all residents of the Greater Washington D.C. area - from those who are new to clay, admire ceramics, or have been producing pottery for decades.”

Why it’s listed

This is the club’s own website. It prints the club’s purpose, founding year, dues, officers, bylaws, a member list and the gallery jury process. It is not a directory card.

• About (home page, checked 2026-10-19): “The Kiln Club, founded in 1946, is a professional organization for working ceramic artists, serious continuing students, and supporters of the ceramic arts.” Its purpose is “to stimulate interest in the art of ceramics and to provide a means through our meetings for mutual study and discussion.”
• Meetings (home page): “Bi-Monthly meetings, demonstrations from experienced professionals, and opportunities to sell work locally.” The home page’s most recent listed event is a September meeting (Sept 16, 6:30 pm) at the Alexandria Clay Coop.
• Membership (Membership page): an online application; the Membership Chair then sends a PayPal invoice for $30 annually, billed in December for the coming year.
• Events (Events page): upcoming programs named as a raku firing, a Stancills clay visit and a branding seminar (“Details coming soon!”); past programs include Donna Polseno (Nov 14, 2022, Alexandria Clay Co-Op), Kate Tremel (Jan 13, 2022, Zoom) and Shoji Satake (Mar 14, 2021, Zoom).
• Scope Gallery (Scope Gallery page): a cooperative gallery inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union Street, Alexandria, VA, shared by The Kiln Club and The Ceramic Guild. The 2026 Kiln Club schedule lists February, April, June, August, September and November shows. Showing work requires being juried in, which needs 2 years of membership and a year-long mentorship, with limited spots.
• Governance (Governance page): a full officer slate (President Donna Downing, plus vice president, membership, programs, treasurer, secretary, newsletter, sales and publicity chairs and Scope officers) and links to the 2023 bylaws.
• Members (Meet Our Members page): about 15 members listed with their Instagram handles.

Official URL

https://www.kilnclubwdc.com/

Membership: https://www.kilnclubwdc.com/join-us

Events: https://www.kilnclubwdc.com/programs

Scope Gallery: https://www.kilnclubwdc.com/scope

Governance (officers and bylaws): https://www.kilnclubwdc.com/team-4

Meet Our Members: https://www.kilnclubwdc.com/member-gallery

Subscribe (mailing list): https://www.kilnclubwdc.com/contact-8

(Canonical first-party site checked 2026-10-19. Every cited URL returned HTTP 200 to curl -sL with a Chrome User-Agent. No 202, 403 or 429.)

Location

The Kiln Club serves the Greater Washington, D.C. area and prints no street address or phone. Meetings are held at the Alexandria Clay Co-op, and members’ work is shown at Scope Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union Street, Alexandria, VA. Contact is through the site’s membership and mailing-list forms.

This is a guild: a member organization. It is not a studio open for classes and not a supplier.

Notes

• Category is Guild. It is a membership club with dues, officers and bylaws; it does not run classes.
• Despite the name, the club’s listed meeting place and gallery are in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside D.C.
• The home page’s “Upcoming Events” box still shows a September meeting, and the Events page has no dated upcoming programs; check the site or Instagram for the next meeting.
• Different from The Ceramic Guild, which shares Scope Gallery. Also different from Montgomery Potters (Kensington, MD), which is already listed.
• This is the first Washington, D.C. listing (checked local files, GitHub main and live clayplaza.com on 2026-10-19; not listed).
• Not affiliated with Clay Plaza.
• No Clay Plaza contact, membership application, subscription, form or publication action was taken.
• Image: the club’s own logo image (site og:image, also used as its site icon), saved as kiln-club-of-washington-dc.jpg, JPEG 1330 × 1330.

FAQ

Q: What is the Kiln Club?
A: A club of working ceramic artists, serious students and supporters of ceramics in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, founded in 1946.

Q: How much does it cost to join?
A: $30 a year. After you apply online, the Membership Chair sends a PayPal invoice, billed each December for the coming year.

Q: Where does it meet?
A: Its listed meetings are at the Alexandria Clay Co-op in Alexandria, Virginia. Meetings are bi-monthly and include demonstrations.

Q: Can members sell their work?
A: Yes, after being juried in to Scope Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center (105 N. Union St, Alexandria, VA). Jurying requires two years of membership and a year-long mentorship.

Q: Who can join?
A: Any resident of the Greater Washington, D.C. area, from beginners and admirers to long-time potters.