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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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