Otto and Vivika Heino
| Vivika + Otto Heino | |
|---|---|
Vivika and Otto at The Pottery, Ojai
|
|
| Born |
Vivika June 27, 1910 Caledonia, NY Otto April 20, 1915 East Hampton, CT |
| Died |
Vivika September 1, 1995 Otto July 16, 2009 Ojai, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Ceramics |
| Movement | Arts and Crafts |
Otto Heino (April 20, 1915 – July 16, 2009) and Vivika Heino (June 27, 1910 – September 1, 1995) were artists working in ceramics. They collaborated as a husband-and-wife team for thirty-five years, signing their pots Vivika + Otto, regardless of who actually made them.
One of twelve children born of Finnish immigrants, Lena and August Heino, in East Hampton, Connecticut, United States. His family ran a dairy farm in quiet farm country. Otto Heino's involvement with ceramics began while serving in the U.S. Air Force in England; during a military leave, he spent several days watching Bernard Leach throw pots. Following his return to the US, he used his GI Bill funding in 1949 to study ceramics at the League of New Hampshire Arts and Crafts, in Concord, New Hampshire. There he met Vivika, his teacher, whom he was married to in 1950.
During World War II, Otto Heino served five years of active duty in the USAAF where he briefly worked on engines at a Rolls-Royce factory in England. He was assigned to the 357th Fighter Group, the "Yoxford Boys", based in Leiston, Suffolk. Due to his knowledge of Rolls-Royce engines, T/Sgt Otto Heino served as a crew chief, maintaining the group's P-51 Mustang fighters. Although he worked on several Mustangs, Otto is best known for being the personal crew chief of Bud Anderson's P-51 Mustangs, all of which were named "Old Crow". Never once in 116 combat missions did Anderson abort or return early due to mechanical problems, something Anderson attributes greatly to the dedicated and tireless work ethic of Otto and the rest of his ground crew. Aside from being a crew chief, Otto Heino, at one point, served as a waist gunner in a B-17 Flying Fortress. He was shot down twice over Germany, escaping certain death largely due in part to his Teutonic name and appearance.
Otto Heino died of acute renal failure at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California on July 16, 2009.
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