Entering Hollowed Earth Pottery’s bustling space at Hampton Station is to step foot into a hive of activity. To your right, a wheel class is in session, with students hunched over spinning lumps of wet clay as they learn to make a bowl for the first time. To the left, a retail space stocked with handmade pottery tempts with each glance. Behind partitions, studio members work on their own craft, pulling pots on wheels or dipping kiln-dried pieces into a liquid glaze, chatting and sharing tips with one another. The air itself hums with creative activity.
“What’s great about this is that it’s just a regular day here,” says Mark Batory as he looks around the space with satisfaction. Along with his wife, Sarah, the Batorys carefully crafted their lives to create the hub of collaboration thrumming around them today. A cart full of Mark’s mugs, glazed in gradients of deep greens and blues sits beside him, and he picks one up. Each is stamped with the Hollowed Earth logo, but Mark’s name is intentionally left off. “An environment that is healthy and good is where so much learning comes from,” he says. Sarah explains, “Anyone who comes to Hollowed Earth knows that this is a place where there is no place for competition or hoarding ideas. This is a place for everyone.”
While Mark was the first of the couple to fall in love with clay, the business itself is most assuredly an even deal. Sarah’s razor-sharp business mind and retail background lent a framework to Mark’s artistic talent and passion for teaching. Together, the couple built Hollowed Earth into what it is today. From a garage studio and the craft-show circuit to the space and independence they enjoy today was a hard-earned grapple of working themselves perilously close to burnout. They credit hiring Annie Singletary, herself a local ceramic artist, and Barb Blair, beloved Greenville creative and former shop owner, as the foundation of creating a life where both Batorys again have the creative margin to give back to the clay community.
“We love visiting other studios and getting in there to help out a fellow potter who might be swamped with an order. Getting to do that is just the absolute best,” Sarah shares. It’s that particular generosity of spirit that shapes how the Batorys built their entire business. Mark opens his strong hands wide, “Only I have these hands, right? So only I can make pots the way I make them. But even better is that I can teach you to make your own work with your own hands, and then together we elevate and teach each other. Always innovate and then out-innovate yourself.”
Seasonal classes, kids’ camps, a retail shop, and take-home kits provide the outside community opportunities to enjoy the artistry and fun of clay. Through studio memberships, ceramic artists take the next step, taking classes from one another and sharing lessons learned through personal practice.
“The whole purpose of Hollowed Earth is to make pottery accessible for everyone,” says Sarah, and Mark adds, “We’ve carefully created an environment to make everyone feel comfortable. We want to show you how this all works.”
As he’s speaking, someone steps over to ask Sarah a question and deftly lifts the Batorys newborn daughter from her stroller in one fluid motion. Here it seems, it’s all a generous family affair. “That is what our dream is, right there. A creative life where we all take care of one another and help each other succeed,” he says.
Sign up at hollowedearthpottery.com to reserve your spot and learn more about studio memberships and wheel classes.
Studio Member Ornament Sale: November 26
Make Your Own Ornament: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays in December
Photography by Will Crooks
