Shoutout LA
Meet Betsey Carter | Potter
Hi Betsey, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Be kind.
These two short words are, I believe, at the heart of our interactions with each other. Simply being kind to one another would resolve so many of our issues, misunderstandings, and conflicts.
The power of these two words clicked with me many years ago when I was lucky enough to meet the owner of Kind Coffee in Estes Park, CO. Amy’s mother-in-law had given her one of my “be kind” mugs (she often sent “kind” related items to her), and she placed an order right away. Fifteen plus years later the “be kind” mugs are still a big seller at Kind Coffee.
Sunshine Makers Market
Maker Spotlight: Betsey Carter, Ceramicist
This month we had a chance to sit down with one of our favorite vendors and artists, the ever-lovely ceramicist Betsey Carter. Join us in obsessing over her use of shape and color, and getting to know her better.
How did you get started working with clay?
BC: I majored in Art in college, and once I finished the foundation requirements I focused my studio work on ceramics and sculpture.
What’s your favorite part about working with clay?
BC: Definitely throwing pots on the wheel. It's the best part!
Do you have any favorite items or objects to make?
BC: I love throwing large bowls, it's so freeing. Plus they provide a large surface for carving or other alterations.
https://www.sunshinemakersmarket.com/maker-spotlight/blog-post-title-one-rpxcd-dhtxe
Local Undercover
Betsey Carter Ceramics
I’m a potter, making functional ceramics for the home and table. I’m from Charleston, SC., and my husband and I moved to Los Angeles nearly 8 years ago to be near our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren.
What is your signature style / item? How did it become so?
My style has changed since moving to southern California. Growing up in Charleston, my work reflected the formal and historical aesthetic of the city. Over the past 8 years my style has evolved to a more relaxed, casual, and modern look, moving much of my work from porcelain to stoneware, and utilizing the rich colors, simple shapes, and soaring vistas of the west.
VoyageDallas
Meet Ruthie Schulz of Porcelain by Ruthie Schulz in Grapevine
Ruthie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Pottery came into my life at an unexpected time....
About three years of working in clay almost daily, I was encouraged by my teacher, Betsey Carter, to submit my application to a local gallery for representation. They were having their semi-annual jury for new members and it was the perfect time to see if my work was ready. I was thrilled when they accepted me as a new artist and even more exciting was the prospect that people who I had never met were purchasing my work and using it in their daily life. I have to say my favorite part of being a potter is the thought that I get to make my mark on people’s lives. My artwork is not something that typically is hung on a wall or sits in a corner. Pottery is art we interact with in our daily lives.
https://voyagedallas.com/interview/meet-ruthie-schulz-porcelain-ruthie-schulz-grapevine/
VoyageLA
Life & Work with Betsey Carter
Today we’d like to introduce you to Betsey Carter.
Hi Betsey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story affirms the idea that we can have most everything we want in life, just not all at once. Life moves in cycles, and there can be a right time for all the things we love and want.
I began my study of ceramics in college, majoring in Art History and focusing my studio practice on ceramics and sculpture. I immediately fell in love with ceramics. In fact, I knew I’d love it before even throwing my first pot. After graduation, I decided to follow another of my passions, books and teaching. I was accepted to graduate school earning a Master’s Degree in Library Science, and began a career as a college librarian, teaching research instruction.
https://voyagela.com/interview/life-work-with-betsey-carter-of-echo-park/
felt
ARTIST INSPIRATION: Betsey Carter
Artist Betsey Carter is a utilitarian potter from Los Angeles, California, who strives for clean lines, and simplicity of form, suggesting a contemporary feel to a traditional art form. We interviewed Betsey to learn more about her incredible work. Read our conversation below.
For millennia, people of nearly every civilization used pottery in their daily lives - to cook and serve food, store provisions, and protect valuables. These utilitarian pots were also objects of great beauty. I endeavor to continue this tradition of making beautiful objects for everyday life. Like adherents of the British Arts and Crafts movement, I believe objects in our homes should be useful or beautiful. I love that my pottery will hold food at dinner tables, display flowers from gardens, or steep restorative pots of tea.
LA Magazine
These 50 Designers Are Defining the New L.A. Aesthetic
There’s a satisfaction that comes with buying local. Civic pride swells when someone lusts after the table you picked up from a woodworker in Elysian Valley or the hand-shaped surfboard you commissioned from a guy in Hermosa Beach. To know Los Angeles is to know its artisans: Whether you’re looking for eco-friendly fashion, customizable chocolates, or neon wall art, we’re here to help you discover them.
[Find 45. Betsey Carter Ceramics]
VoyageLA
Meet Betsey Carter
Thanks for sharing your story with us Betsey. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m from Charleston, SC., and my husband and I moved to Los Angeles 7 years ago to be near our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. I am a potter making high fired ceramics for the home and table, striving to continue the centuries-old tradition of making beautiful objects for everyday life.
I’ve always made things. As a child, I loved creating with crayons, construction paper, scissors, and paste and continued on to art camps, classes at the museum, and private lessons. In college, I majored in art history and focused my studio work on sculpture and pottery. That’s when I fell in love with clay. After college, deciding to be practical, I did my graduate work in Library Science and had a career as a college librarian. I knew, though, that one day I’d get back to pottery, and in the 1990’s began taking classes again, and eventually forming a studio with a group of fellow potters.
https://voyagela.com/interview/meet-betsey-carter-ceramics-echo-park/