The American studio potter Edith Heath, chic and stylish but valuing simplicity, was an icon of American design. Heath was born in 1911 to immigrant parents in Iowa. As a young woman she worked as an art teacher, but soon enough she converted a sewing machine into a pottery wheel (clever!) and began experimenting with clay. By 1948, Heath had launched her own company, Heath Ceramics, and by 1949 she was selling 100,000 pieces a year. Eventually, her Coupe, Rim, and Plaza lines redefined tableware around the world. At the Oakland Museum, photographs, objects and, of course, pottery tell the story of Heath’s extraordinary life. —E.C.

Edith Heath: A Life in Clay
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Oakland Museum of California / Oakland / Art
Oakland Museum of California / Oakland / Art
“Edith at the Wheel,” c. 1960. Courtesy of Brian and Edith Heath/Heath Ceramics Collection, Environmental Design Archives, U.C. Berkeley.
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