Mother and daughter team – Lupe Smith, proud mama, and daughter, Veronica Levin, equally proud, brought their unique artistic styles into one pottery studio. What to name it? When considering the possibilities for the pottery studio they planned to open in downtown Vicksburg, a joke shared between Smith and her female friends hit the mark: Hot Flash Pottery.
“I was getting together with friends, and we were talking about age and life,” says Lupe Smith. “So I told my friends—I said, I get so hot, when I touch the kiln, it goes to temperature. And we all laughed. They were giving me ideas what to name the pottery business, and somebody said—Hot Flash!”
Done. Hot Flash Pottery opened its doors on 102 S. Main Street in Vicksburg in 2019. At first, the studio wasn’t just focused on their own pottery, but was also a gallery for other local artists. That lasted until the Covid pandemic not long after. Other artists retreated to their own studios, and the mother and daughter took over the gallery space with their own pottery and paintings.
Smith immigrated to the United States from Ecuador after her marriage to an American citizen, a traveling veterinarian in the Peace Corps, about 25 years ago. Initially moving to Illinois, Smith earned a degree in fine arts at the University of Illinois.
“Then about 15 years ago, we moved to Vicksburg,” Smith says. “I opened a studio in the basement of a house that my husband had in the family … we started looking for a place in town and used the front of the place to display our artwork.”
Levin studied graphic design at the University of Illinois, but working in that field was not satisfying to her. She worked in silversmithing and painting, but eventually found her passion in pottery. Levin continued to take art classes to learn more, including during the six years that she and her husband lived in Alaska before their move to join family in Michigan. She was ready to become a team with her mother.
“Just like my mom said, we moved to Vicksburg to be closer to family, and raise our son in a small town,” Levin adds. “Being an artist, I wanted a place to work … it turned out this old dentist’s office was available, and it really leant itself to an art studio for both of us. The thing I love about pottery—not only is it beautiful, but it’s functional.”
Along with exhibiting and selling their own pottery, the women also offer workshops in their studio. One of those workshops specializes in teaching people aged 60 and up about pottery. It is a favorite for the mother-daughter team.
“Oh my gosh, that is so dear to my heart,” Levin says. “I just love the senior community here in Vicksburg, especially because they remind me of my grandparents growing up… You find out that some of them have lost their life partners. They are looking for something to do and they want to reconnect with other people.”
Through pottery, community members then mold new connections while learning to work in clay.
Hot Flash Pottery is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more information, visit hotflashpottery.com or call 269.520.4232.
