Bio - Artist's Statement - Resume
Bio
Heather Cole is driven by a passion to express her vision of life through art. For the first twenty-six years of her life, Heather explored this vision through a variety of media, including drawing, painting, writing, and clay sculpture. During six years of world travel, this vision expanded on the pages of myriad journals where artistic interpretations were logged. She explored Southeast Asia, India, Nepal, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. Throughout, she found that her gift for portraiture could help her overcome language barriers and connect her to cultures. These deep connections with global peoples and their countries are captured in the figurative sculptures she creates today.
The turning point in Heather's artistic journey occurred in 1997 in a small village in central Italy when she first experienced stone sculpting. Having found her calling, she dedicated her life to its path. Heather continued to sculpt during the remainder of her stay in Italy, and upon her return to the United States, she completed a one-year apprenticeship with a Seattle-based sculptor.
In 1999 Heather held her first sculpting exhibition in Seattle and she also did freelance commission work sculpting for a variety of companies, including Sony and the Seattle Science Center. While these experiences enhanced her technical repertoire, Heather was drawn to develop her own creative vision, which was realized when she moved to Port Townsend, Washington for two years. There, she dedicated herself to a non-stop study of stone and sculpting. While there she set up her own studio to explore the tools and techniques of her art, experiment with different stone, and attend weekly figure drawing sessions. During that period of exploration, Heather joined the Northwest Stone Sculptors Association uniting with a broad network of sculptors and entering into a valuable professional dialogue. Most importantly, Heather developed and gained faith in her inner vision, giving it expression through her unique sculptures.
In 2000 Heather relocated to become a part of a larger art community in Seattle. For five years she worked full-time in a sculpting studio with other talented artists and her work has been displayed in both public parks and private galleries. Then in 2006, the season for Port Townsend returned beckoning Heather into its creative womb. There she has been cultivating a new and deeper voice within her life and her art. Through the use of cast hydrostone and ceramics Heather has begun to explore new and exciting ways to speak her language.
To the benefit of her art Heather has dedicated herself to a daily discipline of yoga. She finds that yoga has enhanced a deeper understanding of the human form, which in turn, has enriched and found expression in her work. In 2004, Heather connected with her Guru from India, Amma, Mata Amritanandamayi. In this same year she also began an ongoing mentorship with a Seattle based medicine women, Char Sundust, whose guidance has lead her into a deep knowing of herself and the world. Through the assistance of these two powerful and beautiful beings, Heathers life and art dramatically changed in many magical and miraculous ways. Stay tuned to witness this transformative journey.
Artist's Statement
Figurative sculpture, with its focus on the human body, is the language through which I communicate most clearly and deeply. Although I use the traditional medium of stone, my compositions are contemporary. The para-realistic forms that I discover within the stone seem to fuse otherworldly qualities with our own primitive past. These figures exhibit a surreal beauty that is accented with tribal echoes and shamanistic overtones. Although inspirations come from the beauty I see in others, my compositions are not preconceived, instead I remain ever open to spontaneous choices. I listen carefully to what the stone tells me and with my intellect subdued, my spirit can reach out to freely collaborate and communicate with the spirit that dwells within the stone. It becomes a physical meditation, a source of renewal, as well as an unfolding artwork. This process of reciprocity brings me great satisfaction.
Resume
2007 - A Studio participant in The 2007 Port Townsend Studio tour, Port Townsend, WA
2007 - Exhibiting at Bread and Roses Sculpture Park, Port Townsend, WA
2007 - Commissioned work, "Memorial", for Frank A Boushie
2006 - Exhibiting at The Yoga Studio in Magnolia, Seattle, WA
2006 - Exhibitied at Four Winds, Seattle, WA
2006 - Exhibited in "Sculpture Walk," Camp Brotherhood, Mount Vernon, WA
2006 - Instructor for Northwest Stone Sculptor Associations annual retreat
2006 - Commissioned work, "Raven" Marble, for Char Sundust
2006 - Exhibited at Petals, Port TOwnsend, WA
2005 - Commissioned work, "A Mother's Love" Marble, for Deanna Cohen
2005 - Exhibited at Vidya Gallery, Seattle, WA (solo show)
2005 - Exhibited at The Port Townsend Studio tour, Port Townsend, WA
2005 - Commissioned work, "Balasana 4" Marble, for Janel Obannon
2005 - Exhibited at The Yoga Studio In Magnolia, Seattle, WA (solo show)
2004 - 2005 - Outdoor Installation, "Compassion", Everett, WA
2004 - Exhibited at Pioneer Square Sculpture Garden, Seattle, WA
2004 - Exhibited in "From The Mantle To The Garden," 2004 Lake Oswego Festival Of The Fine Arts, Lake Oswego, Oregon
2004 - Exhibited at Art Forte, Kirkland, WA
2004 - Exhibited at "Art Matters," Lemon Tree Gallery, Tacoma, WA
2004 - Exhibited in "Stone," Post Alley Sculpture Garden, Seattle, WA
(Outdoor installation of two, life sized, figurative, stone sculptures)
2004 - Fund-raiser for Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
2003 - Exhibited at Uhuru Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
(Featured artist exhibiting eleven stone sculptures)
2003 - Exhibited in "Art Matters," Lemon Tree Gallery, Tacoma, WA
2003 - Exhibited at Freemont Drum and Dance Center/Gallery, Seattle, WA
2001, 2003 - Exhibited at Port Townsend Studio Tour, Port Townsend, WA
2002-2003 - Exhibited at Kirsten Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
2000-2003 - Exhibited in "Sculpture Walk," Camp Brotherhood, Mount Vernon, WA
(Sponsored by North West Stone Sculptors Association)
2003 - Featured artist in documentary being produced by Scott Pearson PBS and freelance videographer
2002 - Exhibited in "Sculpture 2002," N. Seattle Community College Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
2001 - Exhibited in "Garden Arts," Port Townsend Garden Tour, Port Townsend, WA
2001 - Featured in NWSSA Journal July/August 2001 issue
(Cover, three page article discussing and portraying eight pieces)
2000 - Commissioned work, figurative clay sculpture for Aliya Scanlon
1999-2001 - Freelance sculpting for Seattle Science Center, Sony and Lucus Films
1999 - Exhibited at Art Not Terminal Gallery, Seattle, WA
1998-1999 - Apprenticeship for Seattle-based artist Chuck Iffland
1997 - Apprenticeship for Ferdinanican Di Ianni in Pacentro, Italy
(My discovery, love and learning process with stone sculpture began here while residing in Italy as a painter)
1989-1993 - B.A. in Liberal Arts with a concentration in anthropology from West Virginia University