Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erin Hupp. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Erin , thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’ve been working with clay for 26 years; but it was 6 years ago that I made the creative leap to pursue it professionally and I’ve never looked back. I fell in love with the wheel in high school, and my passion grew in college. Those early years were transformative. Ceramics is a beautiful teacher and it taught me about letting go and having patience with myself. It was the beginning of a lifelong passion. At that time, I wasn’t sure I could make the artistic path work financially so I pursued a mainstream legal career (first land use law and then child welfare law). At that point, working with clay became an important hobby.

When I turned 38 years old, I felt ready for a change. I took the thrilling yet terrifying leap to a full-time career in art. At my first public event, a curator featured my art in the private dining room decor and restaurant service. Everything aligned in that moment and my art practice became clear. I began collaborating with chefs and interior designers on custom ceramics for interiors. Decades of longing for that full-time creative outlet left me humming with inspiration and ideas. Returning to my art practice full time was like coming back to my true self. I felt whole again.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a ceramic artist who regularly collaborates with interior designers and chefs, and sometimes, other artists. I create unique, custom handmade ceramics designed intentionally for a specific space or use. I’ve been working with clay for over 20 years and I love this niche. Everything I make is custom and I am constantly reimagining my art for the project at hand. Interior designers come to me for one-of-a-kind focal pieces for the home and chefs for plateware designed to elevate their signature dishes. From inception to execution, I consider how my art will provide the architecture for the chef’s menu and how it will exist within the restaurant space. I see the restaurant as a live, ever-evolving gallery in which people can touch, hold, and experience my ceramics. My restaurant work can currently be experienced at Californios, Nightbird, Pasta Bar, Acquerello, Sorrel, and Stanly Ranch’s Bear restaurant.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to inspire other people to be creative by sharing my personal journey in creativity- the journey of letting go of what you think should be and embracing the unknown of the creative process. It is a freeing process.

As Brené Brown says “There’s no such thing as creative people and non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don’t. Unused creativity doesn’t just disappear. It lives within us until it’s expressed, neglected to death, or suffocated by resentment and fear. The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity.”

I hope telling my story will inspire others to take this same creative leap, whether it be writing a book, painting, or pursuing another creative endeavor.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Clay is my passion and I’m thrilled to be spending my wild and precious moments doing what I love. The most rewarding aspect of my work is collaborating with other artists – interior designers, floral designers, chefs. Collaborations help me see my art through new eyes, push my limits, and build trust in the process. The most essential components of a successful collaboration is attentive listening and open mindedness; I listen to all ideas and how they may work with clay. That mentality helps me move beyond my comfort zone and continually redefine my practice.

Through my work with interior designer Noz Nozawa (for San Francisco restaurant Hilda and Jesse), I loved stepping outside of my comfort zone and creating colorful custom vases, bowls, and plates. Noz designed the restaurant as a fresh, colorful nod to the 1950s diner, and my work set the scene for the 3 and 5 course inventive breakfast tasting menus prepared by Chef Kristina Liedgas Compton. Noz and Chef Kristina asked me to step outside of my usual color palette of black and white and experiment with bright colors. What resulted was a collection of vibrant vases and dishware as colorful and playful as Noz’s restaurant design – pink swirly pastels paired with semi-matte alabaster and lipstick red paired with vibrant raspberry pink. Our collaboration became a fully immersive dining experience, and so personally rewarding. This year I’m devoting more of my practice to designing focal pieces for the home and collaborating with interior designers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.erinhuppceramics.com
• Instagram: @erinhuppceramics
• Facebook: Erin Hupp Ceramics
• Youtube: @erinhupp1360 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuofZsf8YIJc0yiURhtPOxg

Image Credits
All Photos taken by Adahlia Cole