For Claryville potter, her wheel is a big deal

Anne-Marie Kremer’s passion is clay

By Zoey McGee | Manor Ink

In one of the smallest of small towns in Sullivan County, adjacent to Willowemoc, is the studio of talented and passionate long-time potter Anne-Marie Kremer.

Kremer sells various functional stoneware and porcelain items, such as mugs, bowls, plates, vases, butter dishes, and some decorative items, such as wall pockets and tiles. On weekends in the summer, her studio in Claryville is usually open for customers to admire and buy her work.

Kremer’s story of how she got into clay is an interesting one. She didn’t even know pottery was a thing that could be studied at first. Though she knew she wanted to do something involving working with her hands, Kremer still struggled to decide on a college major and a future path until she was introduced to pottery.

“I had a downstairs neighbor who was a potter, and I was curious about what he did. So he took me down to his studio, and as soon as I saw the students working on the wheel, it was love at first sight. And I was like, that is what I want to do,” she explained.

Getting a good foundation

She learned more about pottery from her neighbor and then applied to art school. To get accepted, Kremer was required to present a portfolio of drawings to a jury of teachers.

“I thought, how am I going to do that? I’ve never drawn anything in my life, and all of my drawings were pitiful, except for one,” Kremer said.

The head of the department looked at that one drawing and said that she was good at drawing from perspective, even though she hadn’t been taught it. Despite that, he accepted her into the foundation program.

“At first, I didn’t want to do that because all I wanted to do was clay. But I learned a lot by being forced into the foundation program for a year because I had to take electives like jewelry, woodworking and weaving,” she said.

After that, the school brought in a big production potter who made a lot of functional ceramics, which was her interest. He became Kremer’s primary mentor, from whom she learned many skills.

Kremer got a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts, but unfortunately, she injured her back in her senior year, and her doctor told her she couldn’t continue doing pottery or the condition would worsen.

As a result, she went on to graduate school for linguistics at the University of Virginia and decided to teach English overseas. She has always taught art along with English and has acquired a vast knowledge of art and art history from around the world. Despite her excitement and love for teaching in various countries, pottery was still her passion. So when the school she was teaching at in Russia acquired a pottery wheel, Kremer took the opportunity to continue her journey with clay.

“I told myself I didn’t care what the doctor said. I’ve been exercising and doing the things I should for years. I don’t care if my back hurts. I’m going to do ceramics,” she said.

Creating Claryville Pottery

In 1993, Kremer returned to the Catskills and started her business, Claryville Pottery. For a few years, she sold pottery part-time when she came home from teaching in the summer. When she moved back to Claryville full-time, she started working at Sullivan Community College to have a steady income while raising her daughter, but she continued selling her work. Around the pandemic, she stopped teaching and started working in her studio full-time.

“I always wanted to come back here. Even though I loved living overseas and traveling, that was all exciting,” Kremer said. “But my dream was to always be in Claryville, build my kiln, and have my studio. So, now I’m living the dream, basically.”