Life & Work with Christopher Heede of Scottsdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Heede.

Hi Christopher, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Both my parents were Artists, so I have always been around Art my entire life. I discovered clay in High School while participating in a gifted art program, and immediately fell in love with the medium. I went on to Arizona State University and graduated with a degree in Ceramics. I now have worked in clay for 50 years, and still find it inspiring, and try to keep learning and growing as an Artist.
After college I bought land in north Scottsdale, hired an Architect, and lived almost a year in a Teepee while building the Studio. It was a transformational experience, learning about construction as well as solving problems along the way. Living in the desert with its animals and incredible sunsets have influenced my Art, with the quality of light influencing my glazes.
I always look forward to The Hidden in the Hills Art tour, opening up my Studio to the public each year. Hidden in the Hills is sponsored by the Sonoran Arts League and is a free self guided tour in its 29th year, located in the Cave Creek and Carefree area in Arizona. It has 44 open studio’s, and over 150 Artists participating, held November 21-23 and 28-30, 2025. I have participated for all 29 years of the tour, and enjoy interacting with people about my Artwork and Studio!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Ceramics can be a difficult medium, especially when things go wrong, and trying to figure out how to correct it. There is a lot of science involved with mixing all my own glazes, to firing the clay. It has taught me patience, as the slower I go with every step of the way, I have a better chance of success. It can also be very rewarding to start with a lump of clay, to making it come out with what I envisioned. I have made my living from my Artwork since college, and I had to learn how to interact with people, gallery’s, and at Art Festivals.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I throw large vases on the potter’s wheel, as well as hand building sculptural wall hangings in clay. I also melt glassblowing glass into my ceramics, using brightly colored glass over the clay and glazes for my wall pieces, some of it is transparent, some opaque, and creates interesting and unique pieces.
I also love to do the Raku process, where I fire the piece to just less than 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, and then take the piece out of the kiln with a pair of metal tongs and place it in a nest-like pile of hay, the hay starts on fire, and I wait till I hear the glaze starting to craze and then cover it up with a barrel which slows the cooling process. The burning of the hay leaves carbon on the glaze in places and also creates a crackle pattern. It can be manipulated in endless ways, often leading to something I didn’t predict.
My Artwork is colorful and contemporary, and I try to be as unique and different as possible.

How do you think about luck?
With clay as my medium, I always depend on a bit of luck combined with my extensive knowledge of the materials and processes to complete what I have envisioned. I have had great success and some failures with my Art, and have learned over the years more about myself when things go wrong, than when things go right, staying open to the process as it is always evolving. I try to push the envelope with clay to explore new ideas and forms to create something beautiful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://christophceramics.com