Passionate about pottery

HURON — Just when Mary Waters was ready to quit making pottery, she was given a reason to continue. Mary, 87, developed an interest in art as a child and pursued her passion by attending art school. It led her to a successful 30-year career as a fabric designer in New York before settling in Huron. She was born in Sandusky and is a 1955 Sandusky High School graduate. After not making pottery for nearly 40 years, Mary started a pottery business with her nephew, Scott Blair. Together they made all sorts of ceramic objects in the studio connected to Mary's home. When Scott passed away from cancer about a year ago, Mary couldn't bring herself to continue pottery. She had a buyer ready to purchase all of her equipment, but a friend mentioned how she knew of someone who loves the hobby. Mary invited Robert Sartor to her home, and he was amazed by her studio. She began sharing her knowledge and has been able to mentor Robert as he works to hone his skills. Robert hopes to build a studio in his backyard sometime in the future and sell his creations. 'I'm an artist' Mary grew up with two older sisters, one of which took art lessons as a child. When Mary would see the art her sister, Barbara, came home with, Mary would try to replicate it. She was encouraged by her stepfather to take lessons too. Mary said art runs in the family because her grandfather was a painter. "I'm an artist," Mary said. "It's a gift from God." She decided to attend the Cleveland Institute of Art to pursue her passion. Mary eventually reached a point when times were tough. She needed to drop out of school so she could make more money to pay for tuition. When Mary made plans to return, she wanted to take an industrial design class — a class only men took. "It was always a man's world, and I wanted to take industrial art," she said. Mary recalled talking to the head of the school, and he doubted her return to school. When he realized how determined Mary was, he granted her wish to take industrial design. After her junior year, there were programs to help industrial design students find a job. Mary was offered a job until she went for an interview and they found out she was a female. The job wasn't fit for a woman because it entailed working in a factory, she said. Instead, her husband at the time received the job. Mary eventually went on to become a fabric designer in New York City for nearly 30 years. She was responsible for painting a pattern that would become fabric. "Everything you see, some artist somewhere painted it," Mary said. She referenced the design of a tissue box or wallpaper. It starts with someone sitting down with a blank piece of paper and painting, she added. Throughout her career, she made several trips to Europe — including in Belgium, Italy and England — to buy designs and print fabric. Her favorite city was Venice, Italy. "I traveled a lot by myself," she said. "I felt very comfortable there. It was small enough to see everything." Her career was successful, and she proved to be a trailblazer. "By the end of my career, I had become a vice president," Mary said. "I was the first woman in the company to become a vice president." Mary was eventually burnt out doing fabric design and decided to shift to something different. Remembering Scott After not touching clay for about 40 years, Mary got back into pottery. She also does some watercolor painting. Mary would often be visited by her nephew, Scott Blair. Mary's husband had Alzheimer's, so Scott would help with cutting the grass and other tasks around the house. "He was like my son. He helped me through my husband having Alzheimer's," Mary said. "He was much better at it than I was. He was just wonderful. We went through that together." Scott had taken a pottery class in high school. During one of his visits, Mary encouraged him to throw a pot. He continued to practice, and he improved over time. Together, Mary and Scott started Lake Waters Pottery. They spent the colder months making all sorts of ceramics to take to art festivals during the summer. "It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun," Mary said. One of Mary's fondest memories is playing cribbage every day with Scott. They often played while their pottery dried. In 2021, Scott became ill and was diagnosed with cancer. Mary decided to put art aside, but Scott continued. "The last year, he went out there and did pottery," Mary said. "I think it helped him get through what was going on. He did better than me." Throwing pots again Since Scott's passing in 2023, Mary couldn't bring herself to continue with pottery. There were many aspects of Scott in the studio. "I was ready to sell off all of my pottery stuff because I said to myself, 'I'm never going to do art festivals again. I can't do it on my own,'" Mary said. Mary had someone lined up to buy everything. But things changed when she was introduced to Robert Sartor, who showed enthusiasm toward learning. Robert, 41, also of Sandusky, fell in love with doing ceramics during his freshman year of high school. He went to college to become an art teacher, but he switched to special education. Robert currently works at Sandusky Intermediate where he's in his 18th year of teaching special education. He's also the assistant athletic director at Sandusky High School. After spending the past two years renovating his family's home, Robert needed a change. He decided to get back into pottery. Robert's ultimate goal is to build a studio in his backyard. Once he has enough inventory, he'll sell his creations. Robert tries to impress Mary each time he's at the pottery wheel. He said her background in art is intimidating and impressive at the same time. When Mary watches Robert, she's straightforward and honest. "She tells me when my pieces look great, and she also tells me what I need to improve on," Robert said. "That's what you need if you want to improve your craft. She doesn't sugarcoat her opinion and I respect what she has to say." With Robert creating items, Mary has also been able to make a few things. She knows Scott would have wanted her to stick with it. "It's been a journey getting back," she said. Mary gives Robert as much advice as she can. Robert said he has learned different techniques for applying glazes and how to make a variety of textures. After completing all the steps involved with making pottery, they both get excited to see the final result when they open the kiln. Mary said it's like Christmas morning or garbage day — sometimes things don't always work out. Mary and Robert are grateful for the friendship they've formed. It came during a time when they both needed something new. "Robert is good. He loves pottery and that's how I feel," Mary said. "If it wasn't for Robert, I would have sold all of this. Now I can do pottery again, which I enjoy." A saying Mary lives by is "God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves." "So God decided that I'm not done doing pottery, and he put Robert in my life," she said.