Work from my 2008 Bend Series will be showing at Simply Chicago Art, 1318 Oakton St., Evanston, IL. Art from more than 30 artists is included in this group holiday invitational show. Show runs through December 20, 2009.
Emerge5 detail (2009) 24" x 24" glass, grout and acrylic paint on MDF
An exploration of the constructive process of consciousness. A coherent image emerges from a fleeting, fluid, shifting background of activity. Find more information and images here.
Emerge 4 and 5 are currently showing in a storefront window at 708 Church St. (between Sherman and Orrington) as part of the Art Under Glass program in Evanston, IL. Now through February 2010.
Flex explores the ways in which individuals and communities interact and evolve over time. My work mixes different materials, forms and textures in a way that parallels the diversity of city neighborhoods. Patterns reflect my vision of how, as time flows, we all experience convergence and divergence: connections are formed, evolve and lead to new connections and influences. Grout serves as an element, completing patterns in negative space. These pieces provide glimpses of the larger patterns from which they are taken.
Flex Photo Gallery | Slideshow
Bend splash2 transforms a black granite backsplash into a functional and aesthetically compelling element, integrated into the open floor plan main living area in this contemporary waterfront townhome. Using a neutral matte glass tile both lightens the workspace and provides contrast with the polished black countertop. Circular mosaic insets refract the line of mosaic glass that wraps around the kitchen and are floating visual markers along the length of the backsplash.
Additional images of Bend splash1 installation can be seen on Flickr:
In updating this kitchen, the client chose a gorgeous dark turquoise matte 1" x 3" surround tile and specified a greens and blues palette for the mosaic inset. Using one intense focal point was important for this backsplash which has many interruptions and volume changes.
I
mpel Study1 (2009) detail :: glass, 24k gold smalti and grout on wood
Explores our relentless drive to move forward: to see, explore, communicate. Our experience results in connections, interactions and impingements that contribute to constant change and evolution.
These clients wanted a visual focal point in their newly renovated kitchen and were drawn to the curves and ribbon-like forms in the 'Flex' series. They chose a color palette that echoed the golds, neutrals and muted yellows in their granite countertop. A large window created ideal lighting conditions with natural light flooding the backsplash. A white gold 'trace' threads through the inset, providing the narrative line integrating the discrete elements of glass and grout.
Flex 09 (2008) detail vitreous glass and grout on wood
Small format pieces exploring form and movement with glass and grout. Grout serves as an element, completing patterns in negative space. These pieces provide glimpses of the larger patterns from which they are taken.
This fabulous new construction home features a spacious, light-filled state-of-the-art kitchen. This client identified the mosaic series, 'Bend' as the starting point for the project. This 6' span uses a glass background in place of paint and features a frame of 'refracted light' in relief.
More information on Bend series here.
More images of Bend splash1 can be see on Flickr:
Heather showed work from her new Bend Series at the Artist Project in Chicago's famed Merchandise Mart this spring. The Artist Project is an event dedicated to the independent artist and is part of Artropolis, a citywide celebration of arts and culture. The exhibition features jury selected emerging and established independent artists from Chicago and around the world.
New work is hanging at the Unicorn for the month of February. New ungrouted mixed media pieces consider the significance of 'noticing' as an organizing force in mental life. These moments of noticing take place within contexts—the internal contexts of personal history and world knowledge, and the external or social contexts to which we are so keenly attuned. Fragments of vitreous glass combine to form a lens that focuses, refracts or illuminates the flow of experience, perhaps prompting a viewer to notice.
Bend is inspired by the dynamic and gorgeous patterns formed by light refracted through wavy glass. Colors weave together in seamless patterns. A tiny change in perspective by the viewer leads to an entirely new andsurprising pattern.
Bend7
(2008) 18" x 24" glass, 24k smalti, acrylic paint on wood
From another angle, Bend explores how we shape our own story: the constructive nature of autobiographical memory. Out of everyday, ordinary life experience, we are perpetually constructing our narratives--incorporating new experiences, omitting some details and remembering other, and shifting emphases to create a cohesive, compelling pattern. Our individual narratives evolve across time, rippling into those of others.
Bend7
(2008) detail 18" x 24" glass, 24k smalti, acrylic paint on wood
From a technical perspective, micro-changes at the level of individual cut pieces had the potential to be amplified and ultimately direct the course of the overall pattern. This is consistent with the assertion that everyday discourse and interactions shape and direct our story.
Bend2
(2008) detail 18" x 24" glass, 24k smalti, acrylic paint on wood
Bend4
(2008) detail 18" x 24" glass, 24k smalti, acrylic paint on wood
More images of Bend can be seen at Flickr:
Bend Photo Gallery | Slideshow
A new mosaic installation is now complete at Uncommon Ground restaurant in Edgewater.
Uncommon Ground's owners invited me to design "uncommon bathrooms" for their second location recently opened at 1401 Devon (at Glenwood).
The central concept for the mosaic installation is Uncommon Ground as a gathering place where ideas are exchanged and evolve. Abstracted botanical imagery makes reference to the rooftop garden which will provide organic herbs and vegetables of the restaurant.
In the 1st bathroom, working above the existing white tile, I developed a band of sparkling mosaic in lush greens with insets of vintage china and and a floral motif in oranges and blues that gain enough momentum to escape the border. For the 2nd small bathroom, I translated the same concepts into a vertical floor-to-ceiling mosaic element surrounded by an entire wall of gorgeous apple green surround tile. A fragmented artist statement is incorporated into a meander of mirror in both bathrooms.
By collaborating with painter Erica Jane Huntzinger, thematic and color concepts from the mosaic elements are carried through in the gorgeous oil paintings on the doors.
Episodic memory, or recall of personally relevant events or experiences, is central to our sense of who we are. Helping adults access those memories and express their narratives was my work in my earlier career in healthcare as a speech-language pathologist. Now, in the Recall series, my passion for cognition and communication as central to our humanity is connected with my work in mosaics.
Focus is a new series of large (2' x 2') mixed media works using spray paint and glass to explore the notion of moments of clarity in the midst of the blur of life.
Several pieces from this series will be exhibited at Around the Coyote 2007.
This mosaic kitchen backsplash in a light-filled, architect designed townhouse in Evanston, IL plays off the Fizz series. A 5" x16" main panel worked in Italian vitreous glass tile is complemented by a 4" x 4" floating element, all set within 1" x 1" bijou glass tiles.
The Flow Series, explores the ways in which individuals and communities interact and change over time. My work mixes different materials and textures in a way that parallels the diversity of city neighborhoods. Works reflects the diversity of life experiences in an urban environment--as well as the commonalities of nature, history, and community that unite us.
Flow is the process too, the loss of self in the ongoing moment of creation, as the fractured tessarae, cement and grout lose themselves to the piece.
Fuse,has been selected as a Curator's Choice at the 2007 Chicago Art Open. The 10th annual "Chicago Art Open" runs Thursday, October 4 through Saturday, October 27 at Iron Studios, 3636 S. Iron St. in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood.
Chicago Art Open is a visually eclectic exhibition showcasing the works of more than 300 prominent, mid-career and emerging professional artists. The event features works in several mediums: digital, drawings, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textiles and installations.
Opening reception is Friday, October 5th at 6-10pm. The show is open seven days a week from 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.