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Heather Mae Erickson

This Philadelphia ceramist brings ideas from industrial production and design to bear in her studio art practice. The result is clean, innovative tableware, handmade in a modern mode. “My work consists of carefully considered forms and highly refined surfaces,” explains the artist. “My creative approach combines industrial clarity with unique artistic execution that requires intense amounts of handling . . . The clarity and finish on my pieces is intensive, time consuming and laborious. Each piece is generally handled and refined so much that it looks like I never touched it.”

By adapting the scale, orientation and even function of traditional tableware, Heather pursues new formats when designing her pieces, which are often multi-part. The artist is interested in challenging accepted dining rituals. “I seek to direct the eye, hand and mouth to treat food differently.”

Heather holds a BFA in ceramics from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Awarded a Fulbright Grant in 2004, she spent a year researching ceramic design in Helsinki, Finland. Currently, she is a resident artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia and is an instructor at both the University of the Arts and at Rowan University at Glassboro, New Jersey. She maintains an active exhibition schedule and recently had work accepted into the 8th International Ceramics Competition at Mino, Japan. Heather was featured as an American Craft Council Searchlight Artist in 2007 and earned a Niche Award from Philadelphia’s Rosen Group in 2008. Her work is included in collections from the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana to the World Ceramic Exposition Foundation in Icheon, Korea.