Meet Beth Hesterman of Salt & Sea Ceramics in Boulder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Hesterman.

Beth, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started as a ceramics major in college. I ended up graduating with a degree in journalism, and I’ve sort of been collecting careers since then: public relations, marketing, writing and editing, clinical massage therapy, and various roles in higher education. I’ve moved more than 30 times, often fitting everything I owned into my Jeep, but somehow the little plastic bag of basic pottery tools always made the cut to come along. While I’ve dabbled in many different means of creative expression through my life, I knew I would return to clay someday.

A few years ago, over stouts at Mountain Sun, a friend and I determined to take a class at the Boulder Potter’s Guild. I’ve been working with clay ever since, in various studios in Boulder and Brooklyn, NY. I’m currently an apprentice member at the Boulder Potter’s Guild.

I’ve lived in downtown Manhattan, the rural mountains of Montana, the rainforest of Costa Rica, and many places in between. Much of my inspiration comes from nature: the mountains, the sea, the desert, the prairie.

Ceramic artists often speak of the therapeutic benefit of working with clay, and I am no exception. Through a particularly dark period of my life, the studio was my lifeline: a place where I felt connection, inspiration and a meditative form of usefulness.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Pottery is a slow art with many steps and several waiting periods from start to finish, and there are so many points in the process where things can fail or break down or produce unexpected results. There are myriad opportunities for struggle and disappointment. I’ve had my fair share of glaze fails and warped rims. I like to think of myself as the channel for expression rather than the grandmaster of production, which shifts my relationship to the process away from attachment to the outcome and toward being present with the making itself. Even if a piece makes it to completion, it can slip off the edge of a shelf. Clay teachers often say, “don’t have precious pot syndrome.”

Please tell us about Salt & Sea Ceramics.
Like many potters, my business is essentially a one-woman operation. I’m a small-batch maker, and I’m known for mugs: mostly one-of-a-kind, but some sets more recently as well. At the moment, I’d say I’m most often recognized for cactus mugs and mountain mugs.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was about 9, my parents and I were on a vacation tour in Europe. While in France, we had an off day with no structured plans. We hiked up a hill outside of the small town where we were staying. The hike ended up being a lot longer than expected; we didn’t speak any French, we didn’t have a map, and cell phones didn’t exist yet. When we got back into town, the sun was high. We stopped at a bakery and I ate the most decadent chocolate pastry I’ve had in my life.