Sense of Place with Hannah Heaton
Exhibiting | September 2 - 30th, 2022
Online Collection Release | September 1st, 9pm PST
Opening Reception | Friday, September 2nd, 6:00-9:00pm PST
Open Studio/Gallery | Saturday, September 3rd 12-6pm PST
Private Viewing Appointments available September 5th - 30th, Schedule Here
Workshop | September 4th 1-4pm, Register Here

SENSE OF PLACE

What is it that links our external and internal environments, giving us a sense of belonging? From small scale plein air paintings to larger studio creations that incorporate symbolism and metaphor, I draw inspiration from the transcendentalist movement, surrealism, and the southwestern desert to create a landscape of enigmatic, inner human experience. Playing with the theme of merging human form and landscape I welcome the viewer to observe a deeper reality which exists in the emotional body --- one that makes the widespread disconnection with the natural world apparent. With the integration of hand crafted earth pigments, the link between my internal and external worlds becomes more tangible. The landscape becomes both the subject of, and the container for, the abiding connection between humanity and the environment in which we dwell.

Through the practice of painting I become more aware of the greater ecosystem, of which I am a vital part. The wavelengths of light which bounce off the terrain before transform into the kinetic energy of brushstrokes on the canvas. Opening to a state of flow invites unity and balance with the changing needs of the moment.

Plein air painting serves as my study for what becomes the final work in oil. Symbols arise from the elements from my surroundings, giving rise to a tale from the soul of my environment. In this way, I think of myself as a conduit for the messages I tune into from the natural world.

Somewhere along our evolutionary path, perhaps when agriculture was invented and the need to control the land surpassed our ability to be in balanced reciprocity with it, we created an illusion of separateness from each other and from the land. Adapting ideas from great thinkers such as Robin Wall Kimmerer, Erich Fromm and Daniel Quinn, self-destructive behaviors arise from a longing to return to our natural place within the ecosystem, rather than the unrestricted domination so common to modern practices. To numb the pain of separation we might ingest drugs, alcohol, and food, or shelter in unexamined biases. For me, the answer has been to paint.

As humans have become more disconnected from the natural world, we too often do not know the origin of materials we interact with daily: from the food we eat, to the materials in our phone, to the fibers that make up our clothing, and as artists, the mediums we use to create. Longing to reconnect in my own life and in my work, I have discovered how making my own paint from local clays, minerals and plants bridges this illusion of separateness. As I weave these earth pigments into my painting, I forge a path for greater awareness of how precious the resources are that the earth generously provides.