A Beautiful Life

2010-03-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

2010-03-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

2009-12-15T16:08:00.000-08:00

Graue Mill

Illinois....a little forest preserve that I like to escape to...

2009-12-15T16:06:00.000-08:00

Clarendon Hills, IL

A quick visit home. Still colored leaves on the ground mid November.

2009-12-15T16:02:00.000-08:00

North Orland, ME

Taken on the farm in the room where I slept for the first part of my summer on the farm, then it was a tent, then finally the beautiful barn. Yup thats right slept right over Fiona (the pig) oink oink!

2009-12-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

Bar Harbor, ME

July, 2009

Acadia National Park

Photographed by Abram White

2009-04-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

I Spy....Atlantic Coast

2009-04-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Woman With The Yellow Wallpaper

2009-04-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

Portland, ME

2009-03-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

2009-03-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

2009-03-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

2009-03-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

2009-03-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

2009-03-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

2009-03-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

2009-02-25T15:43:00.000-08:00

Chagall City

2009-02-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

Starlight cocktail napkin.

Artists rarely get bored

2009-02-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

Self-portrait

2009-02-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

2009-02-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

Heidi

2009-02-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

Winter walk on the Mississippi

2009-02-05T15:16:00.000-08:00

Winter in La Crosse

2009-02-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

Figure Drawing

Green Bay Print Studio

2009-02-01T18:02:00.001-08:00

2009-02-01T17:54:00.000-08:00

2009-02-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

2009-01-19T20:07:00.000-08:00

More work with the figure. The figure has been an important subject in most of my work since I began drawing long ago. Now that I have graduated and am not currently enrolled in any art classes I thought I would set the figure aside and concentrate on other subjects, but it seems that I cannot entirely get away from such a beautiful life form. So, I will continue to figure draw at local gatherings, encourage my friends to pose nude for me (which is not always easy), attend a drawing class next month, and take a different approach with the figure focusing more on the internal structure. The anatomy of the form. What lies underneath the flesh. The spinal cord is such an important part of the human body. In my eyes I think of it as the trunk of the skeletal structure from which many things stem. The curved line complete with its puzzle piece vertebrae lies among many of the chakras or energy forces. The human body continues to amaze me everyday, especially as I learn more about anatomy and certain functions of various parts of the human form. While becoming more in tune with my body through physical activity and light forms of yoga I continue to deepen my understanding and fascination. So while I will be experimenting with other subject matter or styles of art (more specifically abstract/expressionistic art) I will continue to express my love of the figure.

2009-01-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

2009-01-19T19:10:00.000-08:00

2009-01-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

2009-01-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

2009-01-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

Scat-at-scat-scata

2009-01-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

Brittle Winter

2008-11-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

Sea Foam, Cannon Beach, OR

2008-11-16T16:24:00.000-08:00

Haystack, Cannon Beach, OR

2008-11-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

Last Words

2008-11-16T16:20:00.000-08:00

Photoshoot in the Bluffs

2008-11-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

Letters

2008-11-16T16:16:00.000-08:00

2008-11-16T16:13:00.000-08:00

Western Suburbs, Chicago

2008-11-16T16:06:00.000-08:00

Taking It All In

Cannon Beach, OR

2008-11-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

Chole.

2008-10-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

A new collection of photos I have taken. Now that I have more time I will be uploading more frequently. I am also working on a new print! (Intaglio dry point) which should be done sometime after Halloween. If you are interested in buying any of the work on this blog please contact me. Heathe418@aol.com. Enjoy :)

2008-10-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

Beth and Nate, Strummin Away
La Crosse, WI

2008-10-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Streetlight Soliloquist.
La Crosse, WI

2008-10-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

2008-10-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

Leaf Kabob

2008-10-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

2008-10-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

2008-09-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

2008-09-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

2008-08-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

An old painting that I re-worked last month. A color study of warm hues, depth, and texture

2008-08-10T10:31:00.001-07:00

"Subluxated" and "Aqua Assertions"

Both monoprints

2008-08-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

Bodyscape

Senior Show
Close up of Morning Routine

My copper plates in the studio

2008-08-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

Senior show printmaking series drypoint/line etch on copper. Click on prints to enlarge!

"Aparigraha"

The concept of non-possessiveness, which I have learned about through my yoga practices. The term usually means to limit possessions to what is necessary or important, which changes with the time period. This print relates to my life while I struggle to let go of people or posessions that surround me. The figure is clutching an object with force, to demonstrate a literal struggle with "letting go" Now that I am practicing this concept more often, I find myself able to give more positive energy to the most important people in my life. Possessions clutter my mind, take up precious time and energy that could be more effectively directed towards that/those who matter.

"Phenomenally"

This print was inspired by Maya Angelou's Phenomenal Woman. Representing a female figure who has strength and confidence.

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies

I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size

But when I start to tell them They think I'm telling lies.

I say It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips

The stride of my steps

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally

Phenomenal woman

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please

And to a man

The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees

Then they swarm around me A hive of honey bees.

I say It's the fire in my eyes

And the flash of my teeth

The swing of my waist

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally

Phenomenal woman

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say they still can't see.

I say It's in the arch of my back

The sun of my smile

The ride of my breasts

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally

Phenomenal woman

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say It's in the click of my heels

The bend of my hair

The palm of my hand

The need for my care. '

Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally

Phenomenal woman

That's me.

-Maya Angelou

"Lotus"
Lotus pose in Sanskrit is Padmasana and many of the eastern texts say that Padmasasna destroys disease and awakens kundalini, or the energy force within. There are also many other benefits of this pose. Simple and calming, something I am still striving for with my inner spirit. The lotus is also a remarkable flower in its outer beauty and its symbolism of purity within the heart and mind, long life, health, and honor.

2007-12-12T17:43:00.001-08:00

Transcending Time;Time pauses while I am thrown down under a foaming wave scurrying to figure out which way is up;Not only was I perfectly interested in the moment that I was experiencing, I became that moment;I thought if there is a heaven, this has to be what it’s like.

Intaglio multiplate print by Heather Neff

While this print seems to serve a personal function, I hope that my viewers find personal meaning by looking into themselves and thinking about how time is relevant to their lives. In our society a vast majority of people let time control them so much that they are never fully present. Many doctors and therapists recommend that patients forget about time for parts of their day and lose themselves in an activity which creates flow, or completely living in the moment. Studies have proven the health benefits of people who engage in activities or events which focus on parts of this eastern philosophy. During my moments of transcending time I have felt more alive, loved, relaxed, and connected with a higher power. I hope that people can relate my print and make a connection to a moment in their life when they had felt that way. I think that our world would be a little more peaceful and happier if people took time to forget about the past and the future and become fully engulfed in the present.

2007-10-21T10:31:00.001-07:00

2007-10-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

I tell you the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. -Vincent Van Gogh

We are half way through the fall semester, my creativity and drive is at a high, but I want to keep my focus on the figure. We have been fortunate enough to have models every week, which gives me more practice and confidence with my work. I have been looking at Rodin and Egon Schieles works for inspiration, both were great draftsmen. I found a great book of Rodin's drawings a few weeks ago and had a difficult time putting it down. I am also working on a multi-color print built on personal content dealing with identity, nature, and questions. This print has been a bit of a challenge because I usually don't work so indirectly with intaglio. However, after reading about Marc Chagall on our UWL printmaking blog.... http://printfever.blogspot.com/
I learn more about the intaglio process and feel more comfortable "attacking my plates," BPJ.
Chagall worked extensively on his plates, and his prints display evidence of considerable change over the previous one. Sometimes Chagall would let entire compositions fall into the background or into deep etches. He seems to have no fear and trust the work of the acid. A great inspiration.

2007-09-04T13:47:00.001-07:00

The beginning of a new semester!
This is a photo that was taken of me at a tapas bar in Triana. Triana is village in Sevilla that is well known for their bonita ceramicas! The use of ceramic tiles could be seen throughout the many restaurants and houses. The background of this image is made out of colorful ceramic tiles. Anyway this semester I will be focusing specifically on printmaking with continuing emphasis on the human figure, experiment with organic patterning and color, with the possibility of some Spanish influence. I am also brainstorming some ideas for a print dealing with artistic social responsibility. Some thoughts include....health care in our country, prescription medications, natural healing vs western medicine.....any ideas or comments are always welcome! More to come soon!

2007-08-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

Monoprints!
The following images were produced at the end of the spring semester. They are a series of figure
prints (and one painting)/self-portraits done to experiment with color and learn more about the human form.

2007-04-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

Work in progress

2007-04-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

Monoprints! My new found love in life......
Inspired by Manuel Neri and Eric Fischl, with the help of BPJ, I have learned that monoprinting might possible be my calling. Unlike painting it is still a very indirect approach to creating images, however Ithe application is more controlled. I am able to see the ink and the image along with color displays before it is printed. But then as the print leaves the press adjustments can be made.

2007-04-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Morning Routine-
This was a painting that I did last semester, however
I made a lot of changes to it before I entered into the
juried show, unfortunately it was rejected. Oh well,
there is always next year!

2007-02-11T14:35:00.000-08:00

Annie Leibovitz-
After receiving and reading Leibovitz's book A Photographer's Life I find myself inspired and motivated to keep my artwork relevant to my life. I fell upon a great quote from her while reading where she states; "I don't have two lives, this is one life, and the personal pictures and the assignment work are all part of it." After reading about Annie and her life and viewing a documentary about her I have come to further realize the connections between art and life. I can only hope that my work forms a personal narrative as complete and intriguing as Annie's.

2007-02-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

Self- Portrait
This print was created last semester, but I am still working with the image. I have not experimented too much with text in any of my artwork, so this was something that really changed the way I expressed my messages to myself and others. In my eyes text seems like a more direct approach to communicate. It is strong and literally asking to be read. This was my first color print and the ink appears to be very thick. I was not really satisfied with the colors but after a critique I learned that the hard/raw feeling of the ink enhanced the overall image, so here it is! I am getting more instruction to color intaglio and am currently working on a multi-plate print. Cant wait to learn more about color as the semester progresses!

2006-12-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

Painting Series Fall 2006
Well as you can see this series is not complete. However 1/3 of it is here and the other parts will be done by Tuesday (that is when they are due). If I had to pick a title for it it would be, "The Series From Hell," because I put a little too much on my plate for this assignment. Hopefully I can get it done. I began looking at some hispanic artists for inspiration because I was thinking about studing Mexican culture/art over the summer and came upon a talented painter/sculptor by the name of Manuel Neri. His work intrigues me due to his treatment of color and integration of the background into the foreground. With my own series I was attempting to work from Neri's paintings with the intention of portraying my figure as expressive, feminine, and gestural. I wanted to play around with the concept of having blocks of color in the background leak into the boundaries of the figure. However as I began painting and after a discussion with a professor, I realized that the background and foreground were compteing and it was not obvious what the focus of the painting was. I am satisfied with the first painting, and hope that the next two continue to resemble and mimic this painting to complete the series.
Some other artists that I discovered while researching my series were Alberto Giacometti and Nathan Oliviera. Both work with both abstract, realistic, and expressive styles. I really enjoyed looking at Nathan Oliviera's work because he is also a printmaker. As I work with both medias it is interesting to see how Oliviera does as well.

2006-12-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

My relationship with art is like no other....
it is different from relationships with friends,
family, or a lover.
Art brings me emotions that most humans cannot;
both negative and positive
Sometimes our relationship is beautiful,
and other times I want to forget about it, break up with it,
and move on.......

2006-12-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

I completed this painting while researching Degas and his painting/drawing techniques. Degas was a superb draftsman and a wonderful colorist. I specifically studied his nude series and it was amazing. I struggle drawing figures especially with scale and position so I really admire his work. I hope to improve my figure drawing/painting skills next semester. I would like to make this a main theme for my next line of work. Not only are the realistic drawings of Dega's women accurate, but the poses are intriguing and force the viewer to feel the portrayed emotions

2006-10-31T16:08:00.000-08:00

A new semester of paintings. I am given more direction in this class specific to the technical aspects of painting. Class readings discuss color choice, ground, application, texture, etc. I have been assigned to use these as guidelines throughout my paintings specific to various topics. "The self and other" was our first topic, which was convenient for me due to my experience and interest with self portraiture/expression. I am currently balancing painting and printmaking so many of my images relate to one another and collaborate to enhance my expression and understanding of the self. Most of the works are based off of various photographs....enjoyyy!

2006-10-31T15:56:00.000-08:00

Conversation With Herself

2006-09-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands; How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.…And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.
-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass.

2006-08-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

2006-08-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

the more I learn, the less it seems I know

2006-08-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

chicago

2006-08-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

Whats the craik?
The process of lithography is created by using a bavarian limestone. Joel always tells us that if we break the stone, we fail. Well fortunately I did not fail, and I even got a few great prints done before the terrible crack happened! On the last day of class Kate and I were trying to gracefully lift the stone to store it away for the summer, when the unthinkable happened. The upper right corner split, leaving a clean crack diagonally through the stone. Whoops! The picture on the left is of Prof. Joel giving me the "you have just FAILED miserably" stare.

2006-05-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

2006-04-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

NEW CAMERA!
I recently received a new digital camera for my Birthday from my wonderful parents (thanks)! I have been taking some new pictures of my work and hope to have them posted by the end of the week......so stay tuned for some artwork. In the meantime here is a quote that I find very interesting:
"I am a night painter, so when I come into the studio the next morning the delirium is over. I come into the studio very fearfully, I creep in to see what happened the night before. And the feeling is one of, "my god, did I do that?" -Philip Guston
I am sure that other artists can identify with this quote as I have. While engaged in the creation process I become so involved that I rarely if ever step away to look at what I have done. I become so much a part of my work it is hard to notice it during the intense moment of "flow." This is why coming in the next morning can be so exciting and scary at the same time.

2006-03-31T10:55:00.000-08:00

2006-03-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

2006-03-27T13:27:00.000-08:00

Purity and Virtue-A Balance of Technique and Content

I doubted the process of lithography since the first day I was introduced to it. I did not understand why I would draw an image onto a Bavarian limestone and then transfer it onto paper. It seemed to make more sense to just draw the image onto the paper. The process of litho is physically intenese and full of steps. It seemed too technical for my liking. The first two lithos that I produced turned out exactly how they looked on the rock. It was not until I rolled up this rock that I really experienced the spontaneity and unpredictability that litho has to offer. Well actually I was just pretty irate when I realized that a drawing that I had worked so hard on didnt turn out how I predicted it to(or how it looked on the stone.) Once I came to terms with the "destroyed" images that began to appear on paper I began to accept them more and more. The process of working backwards with the acid and other materials was a true learning experience. During our critique we discussed the unpredictibility of lithography and how that can be such an important component of the final result. I have had a really hard time comprehending this because I am used to using such direct mediums. The suspense of rolling any type of print through a press and unveiling an image that may look completly different from a copper plate or stone is amazing, and I am eager to continue on my printmaking journey.

More about the image...
As I reflect on this image I am reminded of a conversation that I had with a good friend/artist a couple of monthes ago at a tavern downtown in which he reminded me of some important things. The conversation was centered around the importance of relationships, how relationships are influence people, how taking risks is important, how people learn a great deal about themselves through others, and of course like many other things, how relationships can influence art. None of my art prior to this litho have been about a relationship with someone other than myself or included another figure. Art has given me the chance to learn so much about myself serving as a personal function of self discovery. This is why I feel that it was necessary to include this important figure in my print. The movement and expression that I worked with helped me to enjoy this process and feel/express the strong connection between the figures in the print.

2006-03-01T11:30:00.001-08:00

A Good Friend
I was unsure about adding photography to a blog that was supposed to be centered around prints. However, I have decided that a lot of my photography has influenced my prints. I also think that it is interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two contrasting mediums.

2006-02-19T12:10:00.001-08:00

Reaching for the Unknown
Here is a print that I completed last semester. I still havent worked with colored ink. However because I feel that the color helps support the content of most of my artwork I am manipulating the image with chine cole. This expressive image is a self portrait that was made using drypoint, aquatint in various stages, line etch, and varnish dabbling in the backgound. It was originally sketched from a photograph, and then transferred to a copper plate.

2006-02-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

apathetic and out of breath

2006-02-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

Sand Sans Le Hand
This photograph may look very familiar to those of you who have seen my prints from last semester. This photograph was taken in Martha's Vineyard a few years ago.....

"To make a fine print in the dune grass
suits me.
So long as she's along

The silver glints of our whispers
will lie on the water
as long as the moon

Stubled over
and carried off
they need only float.

If not for me then for all.

Please stay a while longer"-PH

2006-02-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I am finally going to start up this blog. I have been wanting to start one for a while, but haven't been motivated enough. I would like to make most of this about printmaking because that is the course that I am currently enrolled in. I hope to soon display some prints from intaglio and eventually get some litho's up there. I also want to put up some other art that I have worked on from paintings to photography so stay tuned. It may take a while so be patient, my digital camera is also broken, so that delays the process a bit more........but I will get to all of this eventually.