Blending art and function from wheel to table

PIEDMONT, Calif. -- Erin Hupp practiced law for years while also cultivating her hobby, ceramics. She turned that hobby into her own ceramics studio and continues to showcase her art in interesting ways.

"I learned in a production studio where I was making the same thing over and over again. If you think about it, I have built my art practice in opposition to that, and what has evolved organically and naturally is collaboration. The idea is to always breathe new life into my art, collaborating with other local artists," gleamed Hupp, owner of Erin Hupp Ceramics.

The collaboration that she continues to cultivate allowed her to work with jewelers, glassblowers and restaurants, creating creative pieces that she says bridge the gap between form and function.

"I make functional ceramics. I want to occupy that liminal space. A lot of times art can be siloed. It can be form or function. You are in a gallery and you're seeing art that is not touchable, and it's beauty and it's everything that we need in this world but it is not functional. What I try to do with my art practice is occupy that middle road. This is art but it's also serving a purpose," added Hupp.

A gallery for Hupp's art pieces is restaurants. She creates plates and dinnerware to accentuate chefs' creations that work in tandem with her pieces. One fine dining restaurant is Californios in San Francisco.

"I make very specific ceramics that are really meant with the environment of Californios in mind. The chef is really looking to create a story, and my art is part of that story. We came up with this idea almost like performance art. I make the ceramics in person in the courtyard of the restaurant while chef serves 12 courses to the guests," said Hupp.

Guests can also eat off of her dinnerware and take one home. The goal is to create interactive experiences with dinner guests and feed her own aspirations for inspiration and functional artistry.

"I truly believe when people are fully in their creative self, whatever that means for them, they are happier and makes this life a little better. I hope that I inspire other people to follow their creativity in any small or large way that they can," added Hupp.

Hupp continues to collaborate with local artists in and around the Bay Area.

To learn more visit Hupp's website.