Rate My Professor Heather Mae Erickson

Heather Mae Erickson is an Associate Professor of Ceramics and Program Coordinator in the School of Art and Design at Western Carolina University, part of the David Orr Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts. She also serves as Professor of Undergraduate and Graduate Ceramics and Studio Art, and Area Coordinator of the Susan and Randall Parrrott Ward Endowed Ceramics Studio. Erickson holds a BFA from the University of the Arts and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Her career includes teaching positions at the University of the Arts, Rowan University, and Arcadia University during her residency at The Clay Studio from 2006 to 2009; roles at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Red Rocks Community College, Colorado Mountain College Aspen Campus, and Arapahoe Community College in Colorado; a visiting teaching artist and sabbatical replacement position at the University of Colorado Boulder from 2013 to 2014; and the Robert Turner Teaching Fellowship at Alfred University from 2009 to 2012. She joined Western Carolina University in 2014.

Erickson's research and artistic practice center on ceramic design, sculptural installations composed of functional objects, and narratives created through compositions on tables, shelves, and pedestals. Her work explores redefining handmade expectations, producing unique multiples, blending industrial processes with handcraft, upcycling, and site-specific adaptations using visual cues like negative space and juxtaposition. Key publications include 'Setting the Table: Completing the Story' in Ceramics Monthly (January 2015), an interview in China Ceramic Design Illustrated Magazine (September 2015), and contributions to Studio Potter, New Ceramic Surface Design Handbook (2015), and American Craft Magazine. She has curated Contemporary Clay exhibitions and symposia at the Bardo Arts Center in 2016 and 2021, and leads community-engaged initiatives such as Pride Pots: Community Conversations and Cups of Sunshine service-learning projects. Notable exhibitions feature the Perfect Imperfection Collection (2015-2020), American Values (2014-2015), Pick Mix / All Sorts Collection (2013-2014), Rituals of the Maker (2011-2012), and Inverse, Revolve, Rotate (2009-2010), with works acquired by the Museum of Art and Design in New York. Residencies and fellowships include the Archie Bray Foundation summer residency, The Clay Studio (2006-2009), Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center (2009, Independence Fellowship), and a Fulbright at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland. The Robert Turner Teaching Fellowship Exhibition Catalogue was published by Alfred University.