Mark Vander Heide (b. 1990) hails from Holland, a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 2013, he received his bachelor’s in Sociology and also took his first ceramics course as an adult. He quickly fell in love with clay and began working with it as often as he could, first in Grand Rapids, MI, then in Pittsburgh, PA. In 2015, Mark started a year long residency program at Union Project (Pittsburgh). He then stayed a few years more, spending time as an arts and early childhood educator and making pots out of several studios around town. In the fall of 2020, Mark moved to Detroit, MI to attend Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Mark is currently the Ceramics Studio Manager for Cranbrook Academy of Art as well as part-time faculty for several schools in the metro-Detroit area. He maintains his studio practice at his home in Detroit.