Meet Erin Baker | Potter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Baker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
All my life I’ve been drawn to creativity. I’ve always loved doing arts and crafts, and that more prominently manifested itself as I got older. I took all the art classes I could reasonably take from kindergarten through my senior year of high school. As I entered college, I decided to pursue an education outside of the field of art. I was taking social science classes, math classes, and other generals classes. About a year into this I realized I really missed taking those art classes, in particular ceramics classes. I resolved to take a ceramics class, had fun, and then pursued a degree in sociology and criminology. Again, I missed my art classes. I took the intermediate level ceramics class at my college and then the advanced class and then ended up transferring universities to get into a great ceramics program. That’s actually where I am now, working toward (and almost done with) a bachelor’s of fine arts (BFA) in ceramics. I just kept going back to art and pottery and with every break I’ve taken, my heart has grown fonder for pottery.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a potter. I have the privilege of creating something out of nothing. My art is sleek, chic, beautiful, and functional. My goal is to produce pottery that people aren’t intimidated to use; I want my pots to be used in people’s homes and offices. As much as I appreciate when people display my functional artwork, I am elated when I see it actually in use and incorporated into someone’s daily routine. Right now, I’m most proud of my most recent body of work. I have been working for the last few months creating work for my BFA senior capstone exhibition and I finally feel like my style is coming through and my pots are cohesive together. I’ve been working with clay for seven years, now and I can’t tell you how many times I desperately wanted to be where I feel like I am now. Being a professional artist is hard. It’s owning your own business and doing all the accounting, product photography, marketing, networking, making, inventory management, and so much more all on your own. It is time-consuming and exhausting, but so fulfilling. Every single sale no matter how small gives me butterflies! I get to send something I made to someone else! I’ve learned a lot about a lot of things in my journey of running a small business. Most importantly: don’t compare your growth to someone else’s growth. Appreciate where you are and where you’ve come from and get excited about where you’re going next.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Some of my favorite restaurants that we’d eat at are Even Steven’s, Logan’s Heroes, Sweeto Burrito, El Sol, and Los Primos. Then, of course, we’d have to go to Crumbl and Aggie Ice Cream for some dessert! Cache Valley is beautiful with tons of places to go hiking, so we’d have to check those out. I also love looking at the historic houses on Center street, so we’d probably go on a walk down there to check them out. We’d definitely go check out the Pepperidge Farm outlet and get some discounted bulk items there. There are some incredible houses around the valley on the mountain, so I’d definitely want to drive around with them to check out the new architecture and custom homes. We could even go on campus and check out the sculpture tour and visit the featured exhibits at the NHEMA.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents, for continued support for me in whatever I decided to pursue. Thanks for not forcing me to become something that I’m not. The USU Ceramics program for being an incredible source of knowledge, support, community, and resources. Todd, Dan, and John are my professors and just a small representation of the individuals who have influenced me during my time there. My husband, Caleb, for being patient, loving, and honest with me. It’s not easy giving critiques to your spouse, let alone critiques of your spouse’s artwork. Caleb always knows what to say and makes sure I know my worth.

Website: www.etsy.com/shop/HaddonCeramics

Instagram: @haddonceramics

Facebook: HaddonCeramics

Other: haddonceramics@gmail.com

Image Credits
Kyla Ryan (portrait)