Erin Hupp may have been destined to shape clay from the start. “As a child, I loved the feeling of a clay-like consistency squishing through my hands,” she says. “Some of my happiest childhood memories are playing in nature, in a dress, making mud pies.”
A contemplative child, Hupp requested many a return visit to the Milwaukee Art Museum. “My absolute favorite was Stanley Landsman’s Walk-in Infinity Chamber, which was a room of mirrors and lights that visually extend to infinity,” she recalls. “I distinctly remember putting on the little cloth protective booties over my shoes and walking onto a floor of glass that felt bottomless. It made me feel small and the universe limitless.”
So it is no surprise that today Hupp sees her own ceramic creations—from tableware to lighting pieces—as interactive artwork. “I make functional art that connects you to your surroundings,” she explains. “Each encounter with a plate or dish provides the user a chance to appreciate art and intentional spaces.”
Vase by Erin Hupp from Metier San Francisco.
How Erin Hupp Got Elbow-Deep in Clay
Hupp’s desire to work with clay may have been innate, but she also found paths to develop it. “I spent many of my lunch hours during my senior year of high school in the art room at the pottery wheel with my art teacher,” Hupp remembers. The teacher was not necessarily a potter but clearly appreciated and wanted to nurture Hupp’s gifts. “She created a welcoming, open-ended learning environment for me to explore, to make mistakes without judgment, and to learn the craft.”
More knowledge arrived at a pottery production studio in Madison, Wisconsin, where Hupp worked in her early 20s. “I found a lovely community of experienced potters,” she says. They offered her unlimited studio time and freedom to learn by making mistakes. “I learned to have patience with myself as I failed and tried again,” says Hupp. “The clay process is a beautiful teacher.” Hupp and her fellow potters would throw together after shifts and even get together on weekends. “I spent most of my time elbow-deep in clay.”
Phases of the Moon dishes by Erin Hupp for Californios.
A Terrifying But Exhilarating Creative Leap
With so much focus and drive, it may sound like Hupp never took her hands off the wheel. But in fact she has had many professional identities—many not involving clay. “I’ve been a hostess at a restaurant in Yellowstone National Park; a bartender at a jazz club; a waitress at an oceanside cafe in Manly, Australia; a pottery production assistant manager; and a summer camp ceramics instructor,” she says.
Hupp’s education extended well beyond the ceramic arts, as well—through studies in land use planning and environmental law. “Law school and lawyering taught me a lot of things, some of which I’m attempting to unlearn as an artist,” Hupp explains. On the plus side, she credits this work with confirming her tenacity and imparting valuable organizational skills. But it also left much to be desired when it came to creativity.
After a decade in the legal field, Hupp made a change. “I took a step back to return to what had once provided me inspiration and happiness and had been there all along—ceramics, art, experience, and food,” she remembers. “So I took the terrifying-but-exhilarating creative leap to become a full-time artist and devote all of my time to my ceramics practice.”
An Erin Hupp creation at Californios.
What Erin Hupp Did When She Was Bursting with Ideas
“Because I kept sidelining my creative side, by the time I took the leap, I was bursting with ideas and inspiration,” Hupp remembers. And when she re-dedicated herself to ceramics, her other work experiences became potential inspiration. “When I was a server and bartender in college, I loved being a part of the food industry and exploring food,” she explains. “So when I started my ceramics business I wanted to reconnect to this missing part of my ‘old’ self.”
Hupp decided to take a risk. “I cold-called one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco, Californios, and asked Chef Val Cantu if he’d take a chance on my art. He said yes,” she recounts. “This first chef collaboration provided me the space to devote full attention to my ceramics. It was both confidence- and wonder-boosting. I hope by telling my story I inspire others to re-awaken their creative pasts.”
It would be the first of many collaborations with Californios. And these, in turn, led to creations in collaboration with Nightbird, Sons & Daughters, Hilda and Jesse and others.
Caviar server by Erin Hupp for Nightbird.
Until Both Creations Exist Together
Erin Hupp remains enthusiastic in her appreciation of the culinary arts. “Chefs are artists and food is their medium,” she says. “When I work with chefs, we collaborate on an art piece that is not final until both of our creations exist together. My favorite part is eating what we spent months creating. Our work is both ephemeral and replicable.”
With this point of view, it is no wonder Hupp has become known for collaborations with culinary minds—often developing pieces alongside the dish they will present. “The first step in my process is to visit the restaurant to take in the interior design, the style of the chef’s cooking, and their plating,” she says. After they sketch ideas, Hupp creates testable prototypes until she and the chef reach an agreement, and she can craft a collection.
“I have two key favorite moments in the process of chef collaborations,” says Hupp. “The first is transforming their ideas into reality on the wheel. The second is seeing the complete, finished piece—food and vessel combined. “For example, the floating pedestal I created with Chef Kim Alter—of the restaurant Nightbird in San Francisco—to hold an amuse bouche. For this piece, the foot of the pedestal is inset and vanishes so it looks like it is floating on the table.”
And though the person who makes the vessel contributes something distinct from the person who fills it, they are participating in a shared act of creation. “Fine dining is storytelling—stories about who created the plates, knives and glasses. Stories about each ingredient of the dish the chef sourced,” Hupp adds. “After enjoying a meal, I flip my plate or bowl over to see which ceramic artist created the experience I just enjoyed.”
Lamp by Erin Hupp.
Erin Hupp Sees the Light
For her next course, Hupp has progressed from creations that light up tables to pieces that actually illuminate. Hupp notes that it felt like a natural progression because lighting similarly exists at the intersection of form and function. “My lamp collection is inspired by culinary forms and my collaborative work with fine dining chefs,” she notes.
Hupp points to other details that further link her earlier and more recent creations. “My Ink Bracelet Lamp has a v-cut in the back of the form that mirrors the v-cut of the broth pourers I created with Val Cantu of Californios,” Hupp notes. On the broth pourer, the cut allows guests to better experience the movement of the liquid; on the lamp, it directs light up the wall.
Other lighting pieces also reference food or Hupp’s other work in the food service space. Some lamps are inspired by a French-style soft-boiled egg served in a porcelain egg cup. And her Revolve Lamp makes use of swirling multi-colored clay—a technique she memorably employed creating clay chargers for Californios.
Because so much of her previous work has been reserved for public spaces like restaurants and hotels, Hupp is thrilled to see more of it move into private homes. Some Hupp fans previously sourced pieces via her annual live-throwing event at Californios, at her Fall Pop-Up Gallery, or via limited editions released through her website. But these new lamps will be offered by commission year-round. “It is a big step,” says Hupp, “and I’m ready for it.”
What’s Next for Erin Hupp?
Having officially added lighting to her repertoire, what else is on Hupp’s to-create list? “I’ve been dreaming up and designing a wall installation,” she says. She likes the idea of working with ceramics on a new creative plane—vertical instead of the horizontal. However, instead of a meal, her vertical table serves a visual feast—in part with mirrors.
“I met with local glass cutters and learned about the various techniques for tinting and cutting glass circular mirrors,” says Hupp. “I completed my mirror installation a few weeks ago and can’t stop seeing the mirrors and reflections in—literally—a new light.” She sees the mirrors as portals—blending images of other pieces of art, what’s going on in other parts of the room, and aspects of the viewer’s reflection. “I hope to create more mirror installations,” she says. “I imagine the effect it could have in intricately decorated rooms, each mirror reflecting subtle textures, paint colors, and art.”
But whatever she releases next, the thing that seems most important to Hupp is continuing to create. “Success looks like doing more of what I do, continuing to feel this passion for my art,” she says. “I’d like to work with interior designers on lamps for specific spaces and create large mirror installations for public and private spaces. I’d also like to continue my projects with chefs by creating textured, touchable, meaningful tableware for fine dining experiences.”
And though it has been a winding road, Hupp seems genuinely grateful for where it has lead. “My path may have been circuitous—through two education degrees, various jobs, states, and countries—but I’ve found my niche,” she says. “I am living my passion.”
All photos by Adahlia Cole Photography.
See Erin Hupp’s lighting pieces in Opposites Attract, our recent round-up of black-and-white goods.
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