Color Yellow Could Have Created a Billionaire
by Matthew E May
One month ago today, the legendary master potter Otto Heino passed away at age 94. You'd probably have to be a ceramics aficionado to appreciate his art and recognize his name. I know of him only because he lived and worked in Ojai, not far from where I live in southern California, and where my family loves to visit and camp. Otto was of Finnish descent, and the first thing you'd notice when you met him was his incredibly smooth skin, the result of two decades of applying his own porcelain slip (the liquid porcelain before it's been cast) as a mud mask to his face, 20 minutes per day.
Why is he legendary? Because the Chinese government once offered him a billion dollars for what he knew about color yellow. Not only that, but in 1978 when Pablo Picasso wanted to know who the best potter in the world was, he sent out a request to the ceramics world to help him figure it out. Picasso invited 50 countries to participate in a contest. It was Otto who won the grand prize with a 24 inch pot with two birds on it. His entry remains in Picasso's museum.
Otto's most elegant solution was a highly sought after shade of yellow. As the story goes, Otto went to a ceramics conference in Japan in 1980, where he met a Chinese monk who wanted European and American potters to work on a certain lost color. The monk was looking for a high-temperature yellow glaze popular during China's Chin Dynasty (A.D. 265 to 420). It was the color of a Buddhist monk's robe. What intrigued Otto, and what started a 15-year pursuit, was that the formula for mixing the color had been lost centuries ago. Said Otto in an interview with a local magazine two years ago: "I found an old book in a library that said the original Chinese artist had burned the formula because he didn't want it to be put onto cheap pots. So my wife [fellow potter Vivika] and I decided to work on it."
Two months after the sad passing of Vivika in 1995, Otto got it. "I knew it right away. I opened a bottle of champagne. I celebrated all day. I called China."
As journalist Anthony Head put it, "the ceramics world descended on Ojai. They came in droves. Japan and other countries sent official delegates to scrutinize the color and the ability to fire the glaze at high temperatures. Once they confirmed that the secret of this precious color had indeed revealed itself to Otto, they spent a lot of money obtaining his pottery created with this newly uncovered treasure."
The FBI didn't like it. After Otto cashed a seven figure cashier's check, they ransacked his shop and home. It took him three days to clean the mess up. Said Otto, "They came at seven in the morning, three with rifles, two with pistols. I thought all along the guy was going to shoot me. They said no potter could make that much money. They accused me of being in the drug business because I was on the phone talking about 'shipping yellow.'"
Otto's peaceful life in Ojai changed with the color yellow. What didn't change was his work ethic. He was up every day at 4 AM to start work. What didn't change were his principles--he turned down China's billion-dollar offer for the yellow glaze formula! Of course, he enjoyed depositing $600,000 cashier's checks for his wares. One of his uniquely shaped teardrop pots would easily go for $35,000.
As for Otto's elegant solution, it passed away along with him. He would not sell the formula. He would not reveal it to anyone. "When I die," he said, "then it goes with me. It isn't the money. It's the ethics. I don't want anyone to put this yellow glaze on bad pots. It is the most important part of my legacy."
Like his predecessor before him centuries earlier, Otto believed in creative integrity. He was a consummate artist to the end.
Otto Heino, rest in peace.
Matthew E. May is the author of "IN PURSUIT OF ELEGANCE: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing." He is constantly searching for creative ideas and innovative solutions that are 'elegant' - a unique and elusive combination of unusual simplicity and surprising power.
One month ago today, the legendary master potter Otto Heino passed away at age 94. You'd probably have to be a ceramics aficionado to appreciate his art and recognize his name. I know of him only because he lived and worked in Ojai, not far from where I live in southern California, and where my family loves to visit and camp. Otto was of Finnish descent, and the first thing you'd notice when you met him was his incredibly smooth skin, the result of two decades of applying his own porcelain slip (the liquid porcelain before it's been cast) as a mud mask to his face, 20 minutes per day.Why is he legendary? Because the Chinese government once offered him a billion dollars for what he knew about color yellow. Not only that, but in 1978 when Pablo Picasso wanted to know who the best potter in the world was, he sent out a request to the ceramics world to help him figure it out. Picasso invited 50 countries to participate in a contest. It was Otto who won the grand prize with a 24 inch pot with two birds on it. His entry remains in Picasso's museum.
Otto's most elegant solution was a highly sought after shade of yellow. As the story goes, Otto went to a ceramics conference in Japan in 1980, where he met a Chinese monk who wanted European and American potters to work on a certain lost color. The monk was looking for a high-temperature yellow glaze popular during China's Chin Dynasty (A.D. 265 to 420). It was the color of a Buddhist monk's robe. What intrigued Otto, and what started a 15-year pursuit, was that the formula for mixing the color had been lost centuries ago. Said Otto in an interview with a local magazine two years ago: "I found an old book in a library that said the original Chinese artist had burned the formula because he didn't want it to be put onto cheap pots. So my wife [fellow potter Vivika] and I decided to work on it."
Two months after the sad passing of Vivika in 1995, Otto got it. "I knew it right away. I opened a bottle of champagne. I celebrated all day. I called China."
As journalist Anthony Head put it, "the ceramics world descended on Ojai. They came in droves. Japan and other countries sent official delegates to scrutinize the color and the ability to fire the glaze at high temperatures. Once they confirmed that the secret of this precious color had indeed revealed itself to Otto, they spent a lot of money obtaining his pottery created with this newly uncovered treasure."
The FBI didn't like it. After Otto cashed a seven figure cashier's check, they ransacked his shop and home. It took him three days to clean the mess up. Said Otto, "They came at seven in the morning, three with rifles, two with pistols. I thought all along the guy was going to shoot me. They said no potter could make that much money. They accused me of being in the drug business because I was on the phone talking about 'shipping yellow.'"
Otto's peaceful life in Ojai changed with the color yellow. What didn't change was his work ethic. He was up every day at 4 AM to start work. What didn't change were his principles--he turned down China's billion-dollar offer for the yellow glaze formula! Of course, he enjoyed depositing $600,000 cashier's checks for his wares. One of his uniquely shaped teardrop pots would easily go for $35,000.As for Otto's elegant solution, it passed away along with him. He would not sell the formula. He would not reveal it to anyone. "When I die," he said, "then it goes with me. It isn't the money. It's the ethics. I don't want anyone to put this yellow glaze on bad pots. It is the most important part of my legacy."
Like his predecessor before him centuries earlier, Otto believed in creative integrity. He was a consummate artist to the end.
Otto Heino, rest in peace.
Matthew E. May is the author of "IN PURSUIT OF ELEGANCE: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing." He is constantly searching for creative ideas and innovative solutions that are 'elegant' - a unique and elusive combination of unusual simplicity and surprising power.Labels: Art, Artists, Design, Ethics, Integrity, Matthew E May
posted by Blogging Innovation at 5:00 AM
2 Comments:
Hmmm. Otto seems like a great guy. But selfishly guarding one's secret technology, even beyond death, is not exactly a model we should aspire to.
Philip Haine
StealThisIdea.com
I don't entirely disagree with Philip Haine, but it is interesting that his site is called 'StealThisIdea.com'. I do love this story though.
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