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Emma Steele
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Laura Beth Fox-Ezell is a potter who makes feminist-inspired mugs and is also a librarian who teaches pottery classes for young children. She has been married to Benjamin Fox-Ezell for three years, who is a woodworker and barista at Spencer’s Coffee. The two live as artists out in the country in Bowling Green with their four dogs and two cats. Laura Beth was inspired to incorporate feminism into her art because of the pottery she made for sexual assault survivors at Hope Harbor.
“The inspiration of calling my pottery ‘The Women of Water and Stone’ because women are so strong and always carry the weight of themselves along with the weight of others,” Laura Beth said.
Laura Beth Fox-Ezell and Ben Fox-Ezell have been married since 2016. The two live in a secluded area in town with lots of land and many pets to share it with. Laura Beth is a potter and Ben is a woodworker. “We met at Spencer’s Coffee and were friends for a while before I asked him out,” Laura Beth said. “We were engaged after being together for a year and got married in the barn behind our house,” Laura Beth said.Laura Beth begins a new mug in the studio in her home. She writes motivational quotes by women on the bottom of each mug. “I am inspired constantly by people who work hard to bring their unique vision to life in this world,” Laura Beth said. “They’re everywhere.”Every Tuesday, Laura Beth teaches a pottery class at Warren County Public Library for teens. “I love teaching children how to express themselves by using creativity in their hands,” Laura Beth said. “It’s so healthy for kids these days.”
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Laura Beth and Ben enjoy their evening together while Laura Beth works on a batch of her pottery, and Ben tries to get their dogs to leave the room. “We have a community that supports us, and we’re interested in enjoying the small moments in life,” Laura Beth said.Ben and Laura Beth have four dogs and two cats. “We consider our pets part of the family — they follow us around everywhere,” Laura Beth said.Ben takes a break from his woodworking while Laura Beth unloads her kiln of fresh pottery in the barn behind their home. “We have lived in our home in Auburn for about four years,” Laura Beth said. “We love to create together — many times our work in separate shops actually ends up bringing us together.”
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Laura Beth holds a recent mug she made. She was inspired to make feminist-based pottery by doing work for survivors of Hope Harbor. “I make breasts on my mugs to show that there can be beauty in the female form without it being oversexualized,” Laura Beth said.Laura Beth and Ben make leftovers after finishing up their work for the day. “We got this sign above our window during our anniversary in Gatlinburg.” Laura Beth said. “When we got married, we decided to take each other’s last name because we wanted it to be equal.”
