Perfection

There’s a stately old building on Fullerton Avenue in Chicago that is currently for sale. I first noticed it years ago when I lived in that area. It looks like it was once a bank, but instead of any bank name or Roman numerals engraved over the regal entrance, there is one word, ‘perfection’. It’s audacious and boastful; just reading that word provokes a person to scrutinize every detail for a possible blemish. Or not.

Otto Heino passed away last week at the age of 94. He was a brilliant master potter who with his wife Vivika (1910-1995) earned an international reputation for their sleek modernist stoneware with distinctive glazes. They were also celebrated for their gift of time, teaching and mentoring generations of ceramicists and potters.

I received an Otto vase as a gift. You can see the marks of his fingers and it is slightly asymmetrical. It has presence and personality. It is perfect.