Donn Hedman

Specialty: Clay

I work with clay, which is usually stoneware. Sometimes it is sculptural and sometimes functional. I see it as all the same. What has kept it fresh is that I learn from each piece and it has been that way throughout my 50 year career. Just being open to new ideas and willing to take risks puts a smile on my face. I love the possibilities art affords me and I can’t imagine a better way of life. To quote a North Carolina folk potter: “I whistle on my way to work and I whistle on my way home.”

Donn’s Biography

Donn Hedman has spanned a career in pottery from 1970 to the present. His education includes University of Kansas, Washington State University and Edinboro University. He has a teaching history from 1973-2004 where he retired from Indiana University of Pennsylvania as Professor Emeritus. Donn has received numerous grants and fellowships including a National Endowment for Arts Research Grant in 1981, a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship in 1989 and an IUP Senate Research Grant 1982-2004. His residencies, workshops and related activities include LH Project Residency in Joseph, Oregon; Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, Montana; and workshops at Ohio State, Syracuse, Edinboro, Millersville, Kutstown, East Carolina and Nebraska Universites. Donn has also participated in numerous juried art shows and has been an invited exhibiting artist at many art museums throughout the United States. He was a Peace Corps volunteer from 2011-2013. Donn has been a member of The Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh from 1982-present.