Edith Heath taught ceramic chemistry workshops at the University of British Columbia in the summers of 1951 and 1952. Vancouver potter Mollie Carter had studied clays and glazes with Heath in Sausalito for five weeks in 1947 and returned home determined to advance the state of Vancouver pottery through improved instruction and the promotion of modern design and chemistry.
At the time, the Vancouver pottery community was struggling to overcome a lack of suitable local clays, equipment and technical training. Heath’s workshops in ceramic chemistry and basic skills kick-started the development of studio pottery in Vancouver, which gained national prominence over the next few years. Heath also brought to the workshops her highly evolved modern design sensibilities, based on simple shapes and natural colours; this dissemination of Bay Area craft traditions to British Columbia helped define and promote a West Coast aesthetic.
Concurrent with Edith Heath’s 1951 workshop at the University of British Columbia was an exhibition of her ceramics in the adjoining gallery. The exhibition included experiments on a potter’s wheel, as well as pieces of her production dinnerware. An article by Naomi Lang in the Vancouver Sun featured a photograph of Heath posing with various pieces from the exhibition.