By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

Emma Andrew’s mother inspired her to start the walk down the path of an interest that turned into a business that transformed into a full-time job.

Her mother and the holiday season set those things in motion.

“I took my first pottery class in college. I was working towards an art minor and took a wheel throwing class as a means to make my mom Christmas gifts,” Emma said.

“It has been 12 years since that first pottery class, six years since I’ve become ‘EmmaTpottery’ and selling my work, and three years since I have been working full time as a potter,” she said.

The fascination with art started young for Emma, who was raised in Aurora, Illinois, which is suburb of Chicago. 

“I have been interested in art since I was a kid. Art had always been my favorite subject and continued to take art classes through high school as electives,” she said. “My mother is a quilter and would probably describe herself as crafty, more so than artistic, but I grew up in a creative household nonetheless.”

Emma’s growth as an artist has continued as the studio assistant for The Pottery Studio, owned by Martha Grover and Josh Rysted, in Bethel.

“I have continued to learn new techniques and skills along the way in their weekly classes and annual workshops. They have a wealth of knowledge and I have felt immensely lucky that, when I cold-called their studio after looking around on Google Maps, they had room for me as a studio assistant,” Emma said.

Functional art on the road, in stores

The experienced potter explained why she gravitated toward this particular medium.

“I like that pottery is art but that it can still be functional,” she said. “My favorite compliment is when someone tells me they use their mug every day because a lot of people have a full cabinet of mugs but only use one or two. And I feel especially honored when my mug makes the cut. It is more than just aesthetically how it looks but people gravitate to their special mugs because of how it feels in their hands and the weight. And I enjoy making pottery that people can feel so intimately connected to.”

Being “from away” and having spent a few years in the Rocky Mountains, Emma has worked to make connections in Maine.

Most recently, a few weeks ago, she participated as an artist in the Ladies’ Weekend Out event.

“I set up and demoed at Gallery 302, where I am a member and sell my pottery throughout the year. I sell my pottery at a lot of markets during the year, but I seldom get to create in front of others,” Emma said.

“It was fun to talk about my process with others and show them what I was working on, compared with some of the finished products,” she said.

“Moving to Maine hasn’t been the easiest transition but I have created a great community here in Bridgton through creating and selling my artwork. Between The Pottery Studio in Bethel, Gallery 302 and the Bridgton Farmers Market, I have met some of the kindest people,” Emma said.

She has been trying to strike a balance between creating pottery in the studio and the work involved in selling wares at craft fairs.

“Being new to Maine, traveling around to different craft fairs has been a good way to get my name out. I have enjoyed my local events like the Bridgton Farmers' Market and Gallery 302’s Art in the Park, where I have built a community both with sellers and patrons. I also have enjoyed traveling to other spots around the state like the Harbor Arts and Books fair in Camden and Common Ground in Unity to see new towns. And it has been cool to meet people who have recognized my work from market to market,” Emma said.

“I love reconnecting with people who have enjoyed using my pottery,” she added.

It’s similar to when a musician meets their fans.

“Selling in person at markets throughout the year is tough though because it often means working five days in the studio, working markets on the weekend and repeat,” she said.

“One of my goals for 2025 is to sell my pottery in more shops throughout Maine. I currently sell my work at Gallery 302 in Bridgton, and Full Circle Gallery in Cornish. I have also begun selling specific products to niche stores such as yarn bowls to Karma Yarn in Bridgton and oil bottles to Tasteful things in Naples. I hope to find a balance between selling at market events and in retail stores,” she said.

Mother Nature inspires pottery

Emma has come a long way and learned a lot since her first wheel-throwing class that precluded holiday gift giving.

Not only did her birth mother inspire her art, but also Mother Nature has influenced and energized her pottery creations.

“In Utah, worked as a raft guide for a season and two seasons as a national park ranger at Arches National Park and spent a lot of time outside. I was inspired by the natural world and incorporated that into my pottery,” Emma said. “My main seller was a mug using red and white clay, swirled together to look like sandstone rock. I still make and send that mug back to Moab to a local coffee shop.”

It was in Utah that she sharpened her skills and discovered her own personal style, she said.

“I had spent my time in the desert creating a style that was so tailored to that environment. When I moved to Maine, I knew that I would have to create a completely new inventory. Instead of sandstone, I create mugs inspired by granite, and instead of sage brush, I use pines,” Emma explained.

She compared the brutal beauty of the two states and how her natural surroundings have been incorporated into the evolution of her art.

“In Utah, my natural environment was part of everything I did. I worked outside and recreated outside and even spent a few seasons living outside, camping in our cars. In Utah, 300-million years of rock layers are exposed in one glance around the landscape. Nature is in your face. It is drastic and otherworldly landscapes. It is hard not to be inspired by nature,” she said. “Maine for me though has been the complete opposite. It is about the subtle beauty of the sloping mountain hills and changing light on the lakes from when I drive out to the studio and when I drive home. It has been more about identifying different pine trees while walking my dog and finding the new wildflowers that grow erratically on my lawn.” 

Literally, pieces of nature appear in her pottery. The colors she chooses mimic Maine’s landscape. 

“I pick plants on my walks with my dog throughout the year and notice how those plants are changing throughout the season. I make molds using the plants and then use the molds to make my pots. I carve mountain landscapes and coastal landscape scenes into my pottery,” she said. “I also marble clay together to create mugs inspired by the granite rock and the plentiful lakes of the region.”