summer drawing | PEAK

I am doing daily drawings using Colorado mountain ranges and peaks as inspo. Gradually understanding the geometries and getting the dimensional quality I’m looking for. It is deeply satisfying to bring drawings to life with shimmering glass. More soon!

summer ideas | urbanVine

I’m ready to do some layering with urbanVine concept…I‘m gong to layer glass (foreground whites/midground silvers) and add some very abstracted backgrounded textural elements. I love coming back around to this organic/vine idea with all new techniques and tools. The last time I explored this, I was using more realistic foliage shapes and simply couldn’t get the shapes adequately realized to convey the infinite variations in organic forms. Using a geometric leaf shape gives me a basic form that can be varied in many ways to convey the complicated angles and forms of a growing, changing, evolving vine.

And of course this drawing is vining down…love.

summer ideas | SCAN

working with text rhythms…and contrast today

high contrast | black textured background | rendering SCAN rhythm c Heather Hancock 2022

lo contrast | silver textured background | rendering SCAN rhythm c Heather Hancock 2022

low contrast / silver gray background rendering SCAN rhythm c Heather Hancock 2022

hi contrast / black textured background rendering SCAN rhythm c Heather Hancock 2022

urbanVines | grayscale for now

New pieces in grayscale have a light and fresh feeling with medium gray/silver matte background. The silver gray background has a true concrete look and connects directly with my exploration of how nature and city interact, co-exist.

urbanVine 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 hand cut glass + matte texture c Heather Hancock 2022

I’m staying with elegant grayscale for the moment but color could easily be incorporate in a couple different ways.

  1. Colored glass could be used (ie layered greens, iridiscent). This is a matter of selecting a hue and developing a glass palette that works together and with enough saturation to contrast with silver gray background.

  2. Color accents in paint could offer an abstracted approach to natural palettes. Using a defined circle shape (like I do in ENCODE series) at a smaller scale would be a playful way to introduce color into these pieces.

urbanVine 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 hand cut glass + matte texture c Heather Hancock 2022

concept | Chicago cityscape

I’m delighted to be working on a Chicago cityscape concept. I have done several city skyline pieces, each one with a distinct connection to place.

I am excited to develop a concept for my home city, the place that has inspired so much of my artwork.

I know it will feature a foregrounded urban forest and foliage (kinda like the Museum Park views back at the city. Lots to figure out. I’m exploring ideas for how to approach my muse, Lake Michigan.

Spring ideas: floaty low contrast

I am busy exploring a new clean-line foliage idea. Project code name: urban vine. It’s an idea that I often re-visit. Nature thriving around city strikes me as the ultimate metaphor for us finding our way in challenging environments.

I can see this ‘urban vine’ thriving in a vertical composition and catching light in a hallway or stairwell.

Get in touch

Always happy to brainstorm with you about how art can play a role in bringing space to life.

spring ideas blooming

April in Chicago is always cold and gray and rainy. But spring blossoms are braving it and as happens every April, I’m inspired to find new leaf shapes and ideas for ‘clean line’ foliage. I’m exploring some irregular geometries to encode the idea of constant change and transformation we see in nature. I’m also trying much lower contrast versions…all new for me.

urban vine v1 | irregular geometric leaf v1 | silver background | hand cut glass + concrete c Heather Hancock 2022

urban vine v2 | irregular/rounded geometric leaf v2 | silver background | hand cut glass + concrete c Heather Hancock 2022

urban vine | hand cut glass + concrete c Heather Hancock 2022

New vocabulary and technique invariably lead to new bigger ideas. I’m thrilled to be working on new proposals for large scale installations—and enjoying the vibrant array of greens and blues in front of me right now.

If you have follow my work you know I often work in grayscale. In part, working with a limited palette keeps me focused on form and composition and I love the spare elegance of grayscale art. Black/white glass is also an economical way to explore ideas. It is less expensive than colored glass and allows me to maintain a smaller glass inventory in the studio.

That said, most of my commissions are realized with color. Working with art consultant Debbie Sotzsky of Art Matters on an installation for a DC area lobby, I used the clients’ color way to develop a complementary glass palette. This made for the right vibrancy and drama for a contemporary light-filled lobby.

detail | Scan: MOVE 10 panels 13’ x 8’ hand cut glass + concrete c Heather Hancock 2021

Scan: MOVE | 13’ x 8’ (10 panels of hand cut glass + concrete ) c Heather Hancock 2021

I love how this project turned out and I’m excited to be working on next concepts.

Let me know if I can help out with any projects on your desk right now. I’m always available to brainstorm how art can be integrated into beautiful spaces.

Get in touch

new ideas | minimalist bold

Starting to think a bit about next gen REFLECT series. I can envision a minimalist approach using the same clean line architectural imagery. And, possibly some additional abstract elements will start to weave in.

rendering | minimalist compositions REFLECT 20” x 20”

new ideas | monochromatic elegance

This past month has been focused on developing new proposals. Thinking about new spaces and viewers always gets me thinking in new directions.

Starting with some rough sketches, I’m thinking about ‘vine on concrete wall’ idea that I always see as the ultimate metaphor for surviving and thriving in hard times/places. So many different ways to bring this idea to life. I will start with some 20”x20” sketches in glass+concrete to figure out what elements are glass vs etched vs embossed vs painted.

sketches | SCAN/thrive collage with frost gray +whites/grays

Studio visit | KBAA

I so enjoyed a virtual studio visit with the KBAA team yesterday. Here are some images of the studio…and commission process notes. hh

studio tour

studio tour Feb22

studio tour Feb22

studio tour Feb22

studio tour Feb22: next up is a series of 20”x20” pieces exploring mountain imagery.

my tools!

studio tour Feb22. I am exploring prints on aluminum and layered mylar.

studio tour Feb22

sample idea board

sample rendering > final piece

sample of rendering and final pieces

8”x8” sample ENCODE

8”x8” sample REFLECT

sneak peek. healthcare | graphic lobby 250SF in 14 panels

8”x8” hand held sample

rendering | installation for fabrication in exterior grade vinyl and paint (project was a covid casualty).

mountainSCAPES

Some of my very first art pieces years ago were mountain themed. I grew up experiencing the pure awe of the Canadian Rockies. Their rugged hard edged beauty and monumentality puts everything into perspective: we are tiny specks on this ancient planet.

I did a series of mountainSCAPES a few years ago for a west coast healthcare facility. This graphic approach to mountain and sky created a crisp shimmering view in a patient waiting area.

mountainVIEW San Diego c Heather Hancock

And now with new ways of approaching texture and color and dimension, I’m excited to circle back and re-visit this imagery.

 

And, of course, can’t wait to get back to reflections. This time I can see glass and paint combined.

I can also imagine how gorgeous this could be in muted evening shades (grayed mauves and blues).

Next step refining drawings and planning a glass order. Mixing iridized silvers with blacks and whites will get glass working to create dimension and inorganic irregularities.

more of my story

I recently had a lovely conversation with Catherine Orer for the Artist Entrepreneur podcast.

First, I so appreciate Catherine’s introduction to the episode. She talks about the uniquely challenging times right now and the need to be patient and gentle with ourselves in this moment with so much uncertainty and recovery.

We had a free-ranging chat about how I came to my art practice with glass from healthcare, the creative challenges and advantages of working with glass, and a bit about my experience commissioned work with art consultants.

Check in out…and take a look back through the episodes. Some great resources for small biz/creative entrepreneurs. Don’t miss Episode39 with PandrDesign.