Text by Joseph M. Schuster

When Beth Mueller was little, she could go anywhere she wanted. “My father worked for Eastern Airlines and we flew all the time. He’d come home and say, ‘How’d you like to go to the World’s Fair this weekend?’, and off we’d go.” Today, she says, she doesn’t travel much, preferring to stay home in Barre, Vermont. Instead, her ceramics travel for her, and her work has found its way into stores and galleries from England to Italy to Korea.

(a) The dinner plate echoes a cowboy print smock her grandmother once gave her, while the “Dream” vase is her whimsical take on flights of fancy, nocturnal and otherwise. Space-themed plate and cup are from her children’s series.

(b) Beth often decorates her ceramics with flowers. “It’s a reaction to the climate here in Vermont. It’s cold so much of the year, I really appreciate the growing season. (c) Cat Lou naps on her worktable.

One of the most profound influences in Beth’s life was her maternal grandmother. “When I was a little girl, we spent a lot of time on her Kentucky farm, across the river from our home in Indiana,” she recalls. “It was full of these beautiful, utilitarian pieces of pottery, and I would wake up every day with a quilt on my bed that showed the most incredible sense of color. It really made an impression on me.” She was an avid gardener, and so is Beth. “My husband, Philip, and I have turned most of our yard into gardens. I grow flowers, and there’s a large vegetable patch. We can step out the back door and pick fresh tomatoes and beans.”
Beth’s formal training in art came from Eckerd College, where her happiest hours were spent at the potter’s wheel. More recently, she’s been doing illustration work for book publishers and gift boxes for a major bookstore chain.

(d) Although the “Breakfast” cup suggests otherwise, she always starts the day with a healthy meal. (e) Three of Beth’s vases after final firing.

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