BY GINNY PRIVITAR
WEST MILFORD — Beth Gargano has a hobby she loves: pottery. Some years ago, Gargano found herself with some time to spare. Her kids were in high school. Her husband had decided to go into local politics. Gargano saw an ad in the paper for pottery classes at “For the Love of Mud” with DeBorah Goletz. Gargano enjoyed them so much that she continued classes with Goletz for five years.
“I love it and I really know the basics of it, so it’s just fun,” she said.
One day her husband, Andrew, saw she was cleaning out his workroom. A couple of weeks later, he saw a kiln and pottery wheel in the garage.
“He was so happy that his wife was cleaning out his workroom and then when he realized why, he said, 'Great,' but he was a little shocked at first.” Gargano said.
Gargano and her husband put the studio together and are very happy with the layout. “It’s a functional room,” she said.
Inspired by the beauty of nature
All of Gargano’s work is inspired by the beautiful flowers and foliage in nature.
“The process and materials are organic in nature and when I transfer that concept into my work, it thrills me,” she said.
Her inspiration sometimes comes from her own backyard.
“For example, we have a sycamore tree on our property. I take the leaves — they’re about 12 inches across and they look similar to a maple leaf — and I make bowls out of the leaves (by pressing them into the clay). Each one is unique and different.”
She also uses leaves for inlay in the bowls and in trays. Gargano said they have to keep cutting the tree back, in order to get at the leaves.
She’ll be at the Autumn Lights Festival on Oct. 10 with her pieces, which she describes as mostly functional. In keeping with the season, there will be some ornamental pumpkin pieces as well. Gargano sells at farmers markets and will be the Ringwood artisans’ sale on Oct. 31. She has quite a following there; something she never realized before.
“They call me the leaf lady."
During a telephone interview with the Messenger, Gargano, looking at one of her bowls, said, “I’m not trying to brag, but if you could see this thing, it’s stunning — it looks like a huge leaf and it’s just beautiful.”
The joy of creatingBut Gargano isn’t in it for the money; to her it’s pure joy to create her pottery. She enjoys giving them out as gifts, too.
“When somebody gets something like a unique piece — when I see people happy and excited about my work — this is what it’s all about," she said. "I like to see people excited and appreciative of what I’ve done.”
Once a teacher...Before retiring, Gargano was a preschool teacher, then developed and ran the school-age child care (SACC) program for the West Milford School District. Each of the six elementary schools had their own before- and after-school program. Gargano supervised staff at each school. After that, she moved on to working with children with autism. She was an ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapist, who worked with children from pre-school up to high school.
Now, when she’s not creating beautiful and functional pottery, Gargano takes care of her three grandsons: Paul, 6, Ryan, 3, and Jack, 19 months. She recently taught Paul how to throw a pot, and he is thrilled. She also relishes her time with her grandchildren.
“It can be a lot of fun; I would not trade it for anything,” she said. “It’s very rewarding that I was a part of their foundation years… I have a short margin to enjoy my grandkids and want to take full advantage of it.”
She’s proud of her husband, too, who served on the town council, and happy that he’s working on the new library.
“It’s going to happen,” she said. “We’re really excited that this whole thing is happening. A lot of people think that books will be outmoded. I disagree. It (the new library) will definitely be utilized.”
Gargano has an enthusiasm that carries over into every part of her life.
To contact Gargano, email her at bethgargano@yahoo.com.