Edith heath biography
- Edith Kiertzner Heath (May 24, 1911 – December 27, 2005) was an American studio potter and founder of Heath Ceramics.
- Born into a Danish American family in Ida Grove, Iowa, in 1911, Heath moved to California when her husband Brian took a job with the Red Cross.
- Born in Iowa, Edith Heath made her way west after her schooling and eventually landed in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Information Office
Edith Heath: Philosophies
- Editors
- Jennifer M. Volland, Chris Marino
- Language
- English
- Illustrations
- 300+ full colour
- Format
- Hardcover
- Size
- 245 x 175mm
- Extent
- 320
- Release
- Spring 2021
- ISBN
- 978-1988860121
- Price
- 60
Edith Heath: Philosophies serves as the definitive resource on Edith Kiertzner Heath (1911–2005) and the history of Heath Ceramics, emphasizing the philosophical foundations and influences of one of the most significant creative forces in post-World War II America. Heath considered her dinnerware more than a collection of simple objects; rather, it was a commentary on good design and what she believed was indicative of a new and more informal lifestyle in postwar America. This book offers in-depth commentary on the many themes that shaped Heath’s ceramics practice—the environment, feminism, education, experimentation, architecture, politics, societal trends, collaborations—while also solidifying the relevance of Edith Heath’s story in contemporary life and society.
Contents include a foreword, preface, visual historical time
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Edith Heath – a distinctly Californian artist who continues to inspire
Edith Heath, founder of Heath Ceramics, is the feature of OMCA’s current exhibition, Edith Heath: A Life In Clay. This original exhibition explores the artist behind the distinctly California aesthetic, which is still omnipresent in modern dinnerware and design over eighty years later.
After viewing the exhibition, OMCA visitors can peruse locally-made goods at the OMCA Store and reflect on how much Edith Heath’s iconic design aesthetic still influences artists and craftspeople today.
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Edith moves west to California
Born in Iowa, Edith Heath made her way west after her schooling and eventually landed in the San Francisco Bay Area. During the 1940s, Heath and her husband, Brian, took weekend road trips to defunct clay pits around California so Edith could collect local clay samples for experimentation. She gathered brick clays from Niles Canyon in the Bay Area, talc from Southern California, and fire clays from Ione in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
She was inspired by the
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Edith Kiertzner Heath (May 24, 1911[1] – December 27, 2005) was an American studio potter “but soon became involved in the design and production of pottery and tableware on a far larger scale than that of most studio potters.”[2] In 1948, Edith founded Heath Ceramics. The company, well known for its mid-century modern ceramic tableware, including “Heathware,” and architectural tiles, is still operating in Sausalito, in Marin County of the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States.[3]
Life and work
Edith Kierzner was born May 24, 1911, in Ida Grove, Iowa, forty miles east of Sioux City, Iowa, to Danish immigrants Nils and Karoline Kierzner. In 1931, Edith enrolled at the Chicago Normal School, later renamed Chicago Teachers College, and graduated in 1934. She enrolled part-time at the Art Institute of Chicago after graduation taking her first ceramic course. In 1938, Edith married Brian Heath. Relocating to San Francisco, Edith accepted a position as an art teacher at the Presidio Hill School and audited classes at the California School of
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