Carlee Hite - Packages

Shaping a life with ceramics

Before their theatre practice, Erin Williams and her husband, Nathan Foote, ran their lines on their porch for a production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.” The couple acts with the Appalachian Creatives Theatrical Society.

Erin Williams never expected to end up back in her hometown of Maysville working as a ceramic studio artist, selling her work and teaching others the craft. She certainly never thought she would own her own ceramics business.

Erin, 29, discovered her passion for pottery in college, even though it didn’t come naturally to her. She said she stumbled into the field while looking around various art classrooms at the University of Indianapolis and heard a Beatles song blasting in the pottery studio.

“I was like, OK, I gotta go follow the music,” Erin said.

Now, she can’t imagine her life without ceramics, and while she knows that owning a small business is not for everyone, it suits her.

“I never want to work for anyone else,” she added. “I know my worth in art and in life. I don’t think a lot of people can say that.”

Erin said her parents always supported her ambitions, but were originally worried about her ability to make a living. After talking to one of her professors, however, they came to believe she could do it.

Her father, J.T., told her that he realized she could earn an income from her craft. Even though her father is a veterinarian and her mother was a respiratory therapist, they wanted to understand this part of Erin’s life.

Her dad has helped her sell her ceramics at festivals and is always pleased when he realizes how much some people like her art. “He’s still, like, in awe at times,” Erin said, adding that “it’s real cute still teaching him things.”

Erin’s mother, Lou, also is supportive and admires her daughter’s independent streak.

“I want to grow up to be like Erin,” Lou said.

From family pizza nights to weekly visits with her grandmother, nicknamed Ga Goo, connection to her family is very important, and Lou said she is grateful for her relationship with her daughter.

“It’s funny because, you know, she’s my kid, but we have evolved into an adult friendship as well.”

Erin and her mom visit each other frequently and attend weekly work-out classes together.

The business owner said she was lucky that her husband, Nathan Foote, understood that even though she enjoys her craft, it still requires work.

“I really would not have been able to do any of this if he was not as cool as he is,” she said.

Erin is a business owner, wife, artist and daughter, and doesn’t want to be defined by just one role. She believes adults tend to label themselves, and she doesn’t want to do the same.

“I think it’s important not to put yourself in that box,” she said. “It is part of you, but it’s not all of you.”

The cast of “Arsenic and Old Lace” read over their lines backstage before their rehearsal at Echo Hall in Augusta.

Erin’s character in “Arsenic and Old Lace,” Dr. Einstein, tied up Mortimer Brewster, another character in the play. Erin acted in the play with the Appalachian Creatives Theatrical Society at Echo Hall in Augusta.

Erin teaches a small art class at St. Patrick’s School once a day.

In her class at St. Patrick’s School, one of Erin’s students worked on her portrait drawing. Each student drew a face using an image as reference, then drew themselves using a mirror.

Erin and her parents, Lou and J.T., laughed at a video of their dog, Rico. Erin watches “Survivor” with her parents at their house on Thursday nights, and really values their relationship. Her mom said that she’s glad they have fun together.

Erin pushes away one of her three cats, Huey Lewis, while making lemon bars at her house for an event she was hosting the next day.

Erin meets with her grandma, who she affectionately call Ga Goo, at least once a week. Erin said it is important for her to have an adult relationship with her Ga Goo.

Erin runs her pottery studio out of her basement. Through her business, Erin Williams Pottery, she sells mugs, bowls, flower arrangements and other ceramic creations. She also created a design that she calls the “beans.”

Erin threw pots in her basement studio to create pieces for J.T., her dad. She discovered her passion for ceramics when studying Pre-Art Therapy and Ceramics at the University of Indianapolis. Through her business, Erin Williams Pottery, she sells mugs, bowls, flower arrangements and other ceramic creations. She also created a design that she calls the “beans.”