We all know Birmingham is filled with art and culture, but we don’t always consider the booming pottery businesses. One of the best pottery studios in Birmingham has to be Mudtown Pottery. Mudtown Pottery was started by Beth Smith a little over four years ago in 
Cahaba Heights. Beth creates wheel-thrown and hand-built pieces with Alabama clay, care, and years of experience, all from her basement-turned-studio. Beth currently teaches rhetoric as an adjunct professor for Samford University.
I first met Beth last semester and had dinner at her house a few times. She is absolutely one of the kindest and most-intelligent souls I’ve ever come across. She made my friends and I paella, telling us the history behind the dish, while also asking about ourselves and our experiences, genuinely caring what we had to say. One night after dinner, she gave us a tour of her studio. The amount of care she puts into her work was obvious and incredibly impressive. She showed us this binder, where she keeps all of her pieces numbered. In this binder, she keeps notes of what worked, what didn’t, what she would do differently, etc. She also kept a log of all of the glazes that she uses.
Handmade pottery is greatly underappreciated, likely due to the availability of ceramic and plastic dishes at any Walmart or Target, but it is an important form of art as any other. The care and consideration that Beth puts into each of her pieces is a true testament to the dedication of a potter’s craft—and to the ingenuity that surrounds Birmingham.
Images included with permission of Mudtown Pottery.
