
Otto Heino was born in East Hampton, Connecticut. After the Second World War he studied ceramics under the GI Bill at the League of New Hampshire Arts and Crafts in Concord and spent time working with Bernard Leach in England. He married his wife and teacher Vivika in 1950 and the couple moved to California two years later. Together Otto and Vivika set up their own pottery studio first in Los Angeles, and a few years later in Ojai, California, where Beatrice Wood also lived and worked. The Heinos showed their pottery both nationally and internationally and won many awards. Their work consists mostly of classic vessel shapes including vases, bowls, and covered jars, though they also produced architectural wares.