O d e t t e H e i d e m a n

Having studied Art History at university & 19th & 20th C Decorative Arts at Sotheby’s, my first job was in the Photography Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. There, my lunch hours were spent investigating the museum’s prodigious ceramic collection. My own clay training did not come until later, formed mainly with master potters Lisa Hammond and Kevin Millward in the U.K.. These two potters along with Akiko Hirai have deeply impressed upon me the importance of ceramic history, and the beauty of the functional form in daily use.
 


 

In 2019, I set up my pottery with a gas-fired salt kiln in Brooklin, Maine, where I make both smaller work meant for domestic use and larger, sculptural pieces. In firing, I have chosen a salt atmosphere for its distinctive visual and textural qualities. A handmade cup or vase allows an everyday object to become an unique object of intimacy. I am most inspired by the ceramics of early 20th century Japan- a period of great innovation and respected creativity. My childhood was spent in Japan, France and the U.K. and those years continue to influence my choices and add another dimension to how I consider the (human!) nature of our daily rituals.

 

My work has been exhibited at the salon show at the armory in new york (2021), the blue hill library summer show (2021), the Jane Hartsook Gallery in Greenwich Village New York, as well as on the annual Blue Hill Peninsula Potters studio tour. OHpottery studio is featured in The Maine House by Maura McEvoy, Basha Burwell and Kathleen Hackett (Vendome Press, June 2021), @tmagazine, @Elledecor, Architectural Digest, and House & Garden UK. It was also included in a New York Times article about pottery collectors (July 25th, 2025). You can find my sculptural work at Dobrinka Salzman Gallery, 532 W. 25th St, New York and at Turpan LA in Los Angeles. I am a member of the Craft Potters Association in the U.K. and of the Maine Crafts Association in the USA.