The New York Times notes the passing of Otto Heino a potter whose work “earned him not just a fortune but also a reputation:”
Mr. Heino (pronounced HIGH-no), a driven craftsman who was said to produce up to 10,000 pieces a year, was known as a purist in his work with clay. He often worked with massive amounts, throwing 50 pounds or more at once to produce his huge signature platters. His pieces were texturally natural, with finger ridges left in them, and he mixed wood ash into the glazes he developed and used, which gave the finished work a velvety depth rather than a perfect luster.
One glaze in particular stood out: he and his wife, who died in 1995, created a rich yellow, said to have been a re-creation of an ancient Asian formula. It was so widely admired that pieces finished with it routinely sold for as much as $25,000.
Mr. Heino’s work has been shown at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and myriad other public and private galleries. He summed up his career in an interview with The Los Angeles Times last year. “I am the oldest, richest potter in the world,” he said.
Otto Heino, Ceramicist Who Elevated the Humbel Pot to Art, is Dead at 94 (New York Times)
