Edith Heath: Philosophies

The Environmental Design Archives is seeking your support to fund Edith Heath: Philosophies, an in-depth, richly illustrated book on Edith Heath and the history of Heath Ceramics.

We are asking you to donate today to provide the critical funding needed to make this publication a reality. Please make a gift towards our goal of $35,000! Every dollar you give will be matched, up to $30,000.

USE OF FUNDS

Despite revolutionizing the field of ceramics, no one has written the definitive history of Edith Heath and Heath Ceramics. With your support, we will change that.

Funding will be allocated to four key aspects of the project to ensure the most relevant, comprehensive, and beautiful publication on Edith Heath and the legacy of Heath Ceramics. 

• Never-before-published archival and photographic material will be meticulously digitized and optimized for quality and image vibrancy. 

• Conscious administration of content, editing, funding, and resources will ensure an efficient and flawless final product.

• A collaborative and iterative design process will be developed for both book content and promotional initiatives. The goal is to create an appealing and unified aesthetic identity that is both contemporary in feel and speaks to the concise visual language of Heath Ceramics. 

• Perhaps most importantly, attention will be paid to materials, bookbinding, and printing to create a haptic and tactile reading experience. This book has the ambition to be the highest quality publication about Edith Heath on the market. 

For more information on the Perks associated with this campaign, click here. 

THE BOOK

Edith Heath: Philosophies, will serve as the comprehensive 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-WWII America. Heavily illustrated, it will feature an introduction and ten chapters contributed by artists and scholars who have conducted research using the Brian and Edith Heath Collection at the Environmental Design Archives (EDA), UC Berkeley. This publication will serve as a complement to the 2020 exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California, offering substantial and in-depth commentary on the presented themes—the environment, feminism, experimentation, architecture, politics, collaborations—while solidifying the relevance of Edith Heath’s story in contemporary life and society.

Thematically organized, Edith Heath: Philosophies, emphasizes lesser-known narratives and utilizes rarely seen images. Edith Heath considered her dinnerware to be more than a collection of objects; it was a statement of good design reflecting the post-war American West Coast lifestyle. The book departs from the traditional linear narrative of the company and situates Edith Heath as an influential and under-acknowledged figure in ceramic design history. The text and rich illustrations will appeal to a diverse audience interested in post-WWII design, material culture, and California history.

Publishing Edith Heath: Philosophies is only possible with the generous contributions from donors like you. With an anonymous dollar for dollar match—your donation will go twice as far! Help us make this publication possible by making a gift today.

EDITH HEATH: PHILOSOPHIES SPECS

Page count: 320

Estimated word count: 80,000

Estimate image count: 250

DESIGNERS/PUBLISHERS

Information Office is an art book publisher and design practice based in Vancouver, Canada. The office approaches publishing as a meeting of curation and design, emphasizing projects that collaborate with artists and cultural institutions. IO partners with Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. (D.A.P.: USA) and Idea Books (NLD), leaders in the distribution of art books and special editions from publishers, museums, and cultural institutions worldwide, to ensure the widest possible audience.

“What I do is going to change things. Things aren’t going to be the same anymore.” - Edith Heath

ABOUT EDITH AND HEATH CERAMICS

Edith Kiertzner was born in the farming community of Ida Grove, Iowa in 1911. The second of seven children born to Danish parents, Edith often took on a mothering role with her siblings, an experience that laid the foundation for her decision to become a teacher of art for children. In 1921, at the age of twenty, Edith studied at the Chicago Teachers College. Upon graduating, she worked for the Work Progress Administration (WPA) as an arts and crafts teacher with the Community Recreation Service in Chicago, while living in the Howell Neighborhood Settlement House. At this time she also enrolled part-time at the Chicago Art Institute. In 1938, while teaching art at the WPA Community Recreation Service summer camp in Batavia, Illinois, Edith met Brian Heath, a social worker born in 1913 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They married in August that year. 

The couple moved to California in 1941, settling in San Francisco. Edith taught art at the Presidio Hill School and took courses at the San Francisco Art Institute and ceramic chemistry classes at the University of California Extension. Here she pursued knowledge that led to her deep understanding of raw materials and informed her clay and glazes.

Edith and Brian established Heath Ceramics in 1944. They shared a strong vision for the modern dinnerware; Edith was in charge of design and production, while Brian managed the business. Their goal was to create a durable and attractive product fired at a low temperature and made with California clays and glaze minerals.

Heath Ceramics added architectural tile to their production in the late 1950s. In 1971 Edith received the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for the exterior cladding on the Pasadena Art Museum, now the Norton Simon Art Museum. After Brian’s death in 2001, Edith’s involvement with the company diminished, and she was pleased when Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey purchased the company in 2003. Edith Kiertzner Heath died in 2005.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN ARCHIVES & THE BERKELEY DESIGN BOOK SERIES

The Environmental Design Archives (EDA) is a non-profit, self-supporting research unit housed in the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley. One of the largest archival repositories of its kind west of the Mississippi with more than 200 collections that document the work of many of the San Francisco Bay region’s historically significant architects, landscape architects, planners, and designers, the EDA is committed to collecting, preserving, and providing access to the primary records of the designed environment.

With your help, Edith Heath: Philosophies will relaunch the Berkeley Design Book series as book number eight. Started in 2008, the Berkeley Design Book series produced seven books promoting historical and critical scholarship on subjects drawn from the holdings of the EDA. In the series’ second iteration, an exploration of the rich and neglected history of designers based and practicing in Northern California will: publicize the wealth of the EDA’s collections, promote scholarship, provide outlets for scholarly publication, and contribute to the greater promotion of architectural, landscape, planning, and design history.

For more information on Edith Heath: Philosophies see the EDA's website.

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PERKS

Questions about the campaign?

Contact the Environmental Design Archives

designarchives@berkeley.edu

510.642.5124