Navigating

About Navigating

This stunning mixed media composition was created by Heather Allen Hietala. The American artist hand-builds canoe-like shapes from clay—this piece features five vessels, each unique in their design. Six paddle-like metal pieces are displayed between the vessels. The palette is rich and earthy.
For Hietala the vessel is a symbol of life’s journey. Handwritten inscriptions that line the vessels add an intimate detail enriching the story.

“I recognize that life is unpredictable…it can’t be mapped. The inscriptions on my work offer advice for wherever you’re going but the journey itself still can’t be predicted.”
Heather Allen Hietala

She studied painting and sculpture at the University of New Hampshire and textiles at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Hietala furthered her studies at Penland School of Crafts, Haystack, and Arrowmont in the US. Her work has been shown in Canada, the US, France and Singapore, and is held in collections worldwide. She has also taught and lectured in the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Nepal.