Edith Kiertzner Heath was an American studio potter and founder of Heath Ceramics.
16 Facts About Edith Heath
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Edith Heath enrolled part-time at the Art Institute of Chicago after graduation taking her first ceramic course.
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Edith Heath took classes from Laszlo Moholy-Nagy at his Chicago School of Design.
4.
Edith Heath developed a clay body in these classes which she adapted many times for her production work.
5.
Not being able to have as much access to the pottery equipment as she wished, Edith Heath pursued her ceramic interests on her own converting a treadle sewing machine into a pottery wheel.
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Edith Heath experimented with mixing various metals into the clay mixture to achieve different properties.
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Edith Heath used native clay, experimenting with various California clays before settling on clay from the Sierra mountains because this was able to withstand very high heat.
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Edith Heath's continued experimentation led to her becoming an expert in how different clay types affected aesthetic qualities of her wares.
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Edith Heath developed custom glazes, including the speckle glaze that was innovative at the time.
10.
Edith Heath accepted the opportunity, while continuing to work in her own studio.
11.
Major retailers began to order tableware, which required Edith Heath to develop ways to manufacture her pieces from her design rather than create them by hand.
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Edith Heath Ceramics was purchased by Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey in 2003.
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Edith Heath died on December 27,2005, at her home in Tiburon, California.
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Edith Heath was awarded the American Institute of Architects Industrial Arts Medal for this work.
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Edith Heath collaborated with architects Eero Saarinen, Alexander Girard, Kevin Roche, and William Pereira.
16.
Interested in making use of small clay leftovers and space in the kiln, Edith Heath created a line of ceramic buttons.