Heather Day
Heather Day is a San Francisco based artist, Born in Hawaii. She is known for her Abstract, expressionistic paintings and murals. At the start of her carreer, Day became known to the public for her pioneric work for promoting her art in social media. Day considers her work a form of visual storytelling, where each painting acts as a page to a larger story about “risk and comfort.” Day`s artworks have two major sources of inspiration: nature and process.
Link to artist website: https://heatherday.com/
Heather Day in her studio (2017)
Chosen Works
Proximity to the ocean #2
“I'm still drawn to those boulders off the coast of San Francisco at
Lands End. There's something about the energy - the way the water
strikes them over and over. There's movement in all directions.”
(Heather Day)
This work was was done in canvas by using different
methods of acrylic paint and graphite on canvas.
56" x 72", 2015, Acrylic and graphite on canvas
What are you doing this weekend?
In this work, i was impressed by the vivid feeling of
fleeting moment and liquidity.
48" x 60", 2017, Acrylic, soft-pastel, spray paint on canvas
Methods of approach
strugle in school to have reasonable grades but after diagnosed and understanding the nature of dyslexia she gradualy learned to understand her speciality. In her essay ”Dyslexia - Marks unravelled” Day writes about how she came up with this diagnosis and how she recognised it as a resource. Additionally Day includes her thoughts about stereotypical assumptions of dyslexia.
Day has a fine dining, art, and community concept to bridge creative people of many forms together aroundthe dinner table. She tries to put together people from different aspects of art to greate simulation, integration and conversation.
Left brainers Society
Some people are known to be verbally and mathematically more talented than others. Normally these people are dominated by the left side of their brain. The society is build up to favor the people who have the ability to think ”left brained”. Heather Day was diagnosed to have a dyslexia
at fifth grade. In dyslexia right side of the brain is dominant to the left. Many studies prove that people with dyslexia have better abilities in conceptual thinking and creative work. In a nother hand it is not
scientificly proven whether individuals with dyslexia are more creative in their own right or, whether their creativity stems from having to be better problemsolvers. Anyhow, In her essay Day describes that her brain understands the world and perceives things differently than a lot of other people. Day takes a stance on our educational system whitch is favoring
the skills of a majority instead of individual talents. She is worried about the society that is mass producing scientists and mathematicians insterad of supporting every learning process and and equally make a
success.
To actually accoplish equality, we need to educate teatchers to understand different kind of learning. We also need a change in the structures in a society. In artistic approach, Day conciders ”so called”
dyslexia has helped her to experience the world more deeply. Her experiences naturally build up to her mind as images or maps.
”When my paintings are all lined up like a grid on
the wall, they mimic my own language. Each
painting could be a sentence or just one letter, which
is incredibly liberating in a world with a set verbal
structure. ” (Heather Day 2016).
Concept "Studio Table"
To create a space for people from many walks of artistic life otherwise unlikely to meet, Day created a concept titled ”Studio Table”. Studio Table is a dinner where artists can apply via www.studiotable.com or be
invited by hosts. The idea is to have an inspired experience together in a space that stimulates creativity and integration The dinner is held at Day`s home studio. The guests are served with fine dining meals and people may perform during the evening. ”Studio Table is the culmination of the senses, uninhibited by fear, misunderstanding, or judgment; it
is an opportunity offered to those with the desire to be engaged in transparency and dialogue...” . This kind of dialogue and interaction would
be heartwarming to see between artists, scientists and politicians.
Testing methods
To try out Heather Day`s methods of inspiration is i needed to put on my hiking shoes and go out to see the ocean. It was raining and the weather was rough. I was watching the ocean at the fjords and felt vertigo imagining the depth that fjord lays under the surface. I feel deep respect towards nature powers. I try to imagine my feelings
as a map or image. Fear is involved.
I use aquarell colors, ink, charcoal, pastels and water to paint on paper. Due to my stock of materials I did not have acrylic paint to have
such an intensive color. Instead I added ink to the palette to make more powerfull statement. I love the way indian ink reacts with water. To have more textures I added pastels and markers to following layers.
Heather Day in her studio (2017) The first two days I spent filling my
sketchbook unintentionally before I was comfortable with the hierarchy of materials and techniques. Rather than thinking the end product I tried to put the stream of consciousness on paper. The story is told by the hierarchy of colors and by the nerve lines that both equally reflect my emotions and memories.
Set of sketches from Heather Day
Set of sketches from Juha Korpela
Keywords
//Visual storytelling
Visual storytelling is how Day describes her work. The inspiration comes from her own experiences and emotions.
//Process
Day underlines the meaning of the process which begins at the field making notes. The painting normally starts with expressionistic intervention on blanc canvas and continues by reacting to the mark. Painting gradually builds up by adding colors and textures and again reacting to it.
//Liquidity
Day uses water in intriquing way to create abstract images. Liquidity is strongly present in both, technique and objective.
//Playfullness
Rather than making rough sketches from herpaintings Day likes to think each painting as a rough sketch.
References and links
https://medium.com/@Lexxic/the-creative-side-to-being-
dyslexic-arepeople-with-dyslexia-more-creative-fb4eb880f7fd
https://heatherday.com/notes/2016/9/6/marks-unravelled
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4780733/
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/childlearning-
disabilities/dyslexia/dyslexia-and-creativity-what-you-need-toknow