Artist Statement

My imagination is sparked by the places where two worlds overlap, the land and the sea. Recalling sailing and kayaking trips or taking a long walk on the coast, I can’t help but wonder where the ocean stops and the land begins. Safe passage and journeys are ongoing themes in everything that I do. Whether gardening and planning for the next season, or reflecting on past experiences in life and love, my imagination never stops wondering about the human predicament. What does taking one path mean, if another is left barren? How do we express ourselves when we feel caught between worlds, both familiar and unfamiliar? What compels us to grow, to leap? Mixed media artwork helps me explore and express these questions from a variety of angles. My time in the studio work is often slow and quiet, other times frenzied driven by purpose, I never tire of this ebb and flow of discovery and expression.

Working from my home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I explore the worlds of genetics and identity by making topsoil and grafting trees in my permaculture garden. Threads—both physical and metaphorical—play a major role in much of my artwork, as I often want to stitch, layer, or weave overlapping worlds together, working closely with the idea of safe passage between the two.

Regardless of the materials I use, a textile sensibility informs all the surfaces of this body of work. I may be forming clay, bending wire, stitching paper, stretching gut-skins, or using collage; in every case, a sense of pattern, color, and material integrity comes first and foremost as I create.

Contact: heatherhietala@gmail.com