I am an exaggerator of the sun and was raised by the moon. Surrounded by dirt, corn, cows, and rust, I was born in a barn to humble farmers. Soon after, I became an Eastern Iowa 4-H child prodigy, winning more ribbons than one can count. With those glory days well behind me, I now spend my time making work that doesn’t necessarily depict the land, but is of the land.
Having witnessed firsthand the whimsy and brutality of nature, my farmstead childhood has uniquely shaped the lens through which I view the world. Time is measured by the color of the fields and when babies are born. Vast expanses of crops are raised, harvested, and migrated. Large quantities of material are vigorously used for months, then discarded or replaced, and certain animals are only as valuable as their ability to procreate. Though my work often shifts in form, material, and concept, those experiences will always underlie my practice. My rural upbringing has taught me the difference between looking and seeing, hearing and listening.
It defined my understanding of good and bad
Collapsed the distance between life and death
Then showed me how to explore what lies in between.
With the rise of social media and AI, I have become interested in how we interact with what’s real. Throughout history, from cave paintings to cathedrals, from Monet to Ansel to Olafur, humans have sought to capture and recreate nature. Before smartphones, we made film slideshows, traded shot glasses painted with palm trees, drew sketches, collected rocks, pressed flowers, and wrote songs. Today, we extend that impulse into the digital realm, archiving obsessively with phone cameras and uploading as a souvenir, proof, or memory.
My work questions whether this pursuit of simulating the isness of nature and the phenomena of the cosmos can be achieved. The wonder of the aurora borealis, the solitude of standing in an infinite field, the shimmer of moonlight on the ocean that causes something in your chest to expand–they are reminders that awe is as much a physical experience as it is an emotional one. Can that be recreated?
Heidi has exhibited in galleries, museums, and sculpture parks throughout the U.S., including the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Goodyear Arts, Franconia Sculpture Park, Josephine Sculpture Park, and Salem Art Works. In 2016, she was a Fellow at The LungA School in Iceland, and these creative ties have led her to return over the years to participate in numerous residencies, exhibitions, winter light-art festivals, lead workshops, and, most recently, to make a book about Icelandic pylsur (hot dogs). Heidi holds a BFA from the University of Iowa, an MA from Eastern Illinois University, and an MFA from the University of Maryland. She is now based in North Carolina - sandwiched between the mountains and the sea - where she can easily escape the city and once again find herself amongst the whimsy and brutality of nature.