Collection: Eric Smith Pottery
"I have been working in clay for over 19 years. From the very start I was drawn to the beautiful and often-unsigned folk pots made in rural communities and villages around the world. These pots were made in volume by skilled hands, with crude clays and simple glazes, often fired in large wood burning kilns. Their strength and subtle beauty continue to inspire what I make today.
After college, instead of filling out applications for MFA programs, I made a short list of potters whose work I respected and whose links to particular traditions I felt at home with. The following year, Cary Hulin of Big Prairie, OH took me on as his first apprentice. After Cary’s I moved down South to spend two years apprenticing with Mark Hewitt of Pittsboro, NC. These three years as an apprentice built a strong foundation for how I approach my work, both functionally and aesthetically.
I strive to make pots that are fluid without being too loose, well controlled without being tight. Pots have to feel good and be well balanced in your hands, while also possessing surfaces that are interesting, fun, sometimes familiar, sometimes surprising. A good pot should offer beauty and grace to life’s daily rituals."
After college, instead of filling out applications for MFA programs, I made a short list of potters whose work I respected and whose links to particular traditions I felt at home with. The following year, Cary Hulin of Big Prairie, OH took me on as his first apprentice. After Cary’s I moved down South to spend two years apprenticing with Mark Hewitt of Pittsboro, NC. These three years as an apprentice built a strong foundation for how I approach my work, both functionally and aesthetically.
I strive to make pots that are fluid without being too loose, well controlled without being tight. Pots have to feel good and be well balanced in your hands, while also possessing surfaces that are interesting, fun, sometimes familiar, sometimes surprising. A good pot should offer beauty and grace to life’s daily rituals."
