Heather Abt, in Portland Maine

Fine Pottery, Unique Creations

Original wheel-thrown and handbuilt pottery, created by Maine artist Heather Abt in her Portland studio.

ABOUT HEATHER-UNTETHERED

Heather Abt, Potter-At-Large
Carmen, Studio Manager

A POTTER'S JOURNEY

The work you are seeing began to form many years ago, in Chicago, when a young girl named Heather peeked into her neighbor's studio and watched the neighbor centering clay on the potter's wheel. Then, as the neighbor began spinning miraculous forms into being, Heather was utterly captivated.

FROM MICHIGAN TO ANCIENT GREECE

In junior high school, Heather was fortunate to spend time at the fine arts enclave in Michigan known as Interlochen, where she was finally given a chance at the “wheel”. Falling in love with clay, Heather spent several months during high school in Greece, where she was lucky enough to get a close up, eye-popping look at some of the Greek Amphora (ancient ceramic vessels.)

She returned to the states profoundly inspired by the rich colors and sensuous forms she had encountered on this journey.

ETERNAL STUDENT

Heather attended college in the midwest, at The College of Wooster, where she majored in philosophy. The Ceramics professor, Walter Zurko, took her in hand and lead her to the library to the Pottery section, specifically the Japanese ceramics, and left her there to explore.

RECENT WORK

Her work has grown and evolved ever since. A few years ago, Heather had the good fortune to complete a wood firing with world reknowned artists Ken Matsuzaki and Randy Johnston at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Some of that work is on view today at her studio, located in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland ME., along with more recent work in which she experiments with both traditional and contemporary firing techniques.