Heather Van Winckle
About
Heather Van Winckle is an interdisciplinary artist who lives in Oakland, CA. She has shown in traditional galleries in the USA and Canada, as well as unconventional spaces for site specific work including a vacant mall store (Plyspace, Muncie, IN), an experimental gallery run out of a rehabilitated home (Tessellate, Pontiac, MI), an active boutique hotel (Mystic Hotel, San Francisco, CA), and several public bus stop shelters (Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA).
With a keen interest in self-policing behaviors exhibited in Western Society, Heather researches how the rules that structure normal cultural behavior are (re)produced and re(de)fined in our daily lives. Currently, the militarization of everyday life has been a main focus, as she unpacks notions of being “at ease” within different contexts.
Maintenance Actions
The inertia of starting down a new path of creative thinking is the hardest part of making. It’s unbearable to commit to not necessarily accomplishing anything, in and of itself. Sitting on a stool at my desk looking at a blank page feels simply indulgent, in a bad way.
The need to account for my time, the desire to feel productive, and the ongoing pressure of an ever-growing to-do list are always top of mind, and turning off mental distractions is imperative.
Trickery is an effective tactic, so I clean. In search of a rhythm or pattern to calm myself just enough to be open to new thought, the physical act of scrubbing the surfaces of my life is both productive and relaxing. Space and grace for creative thought is established, and hopefully the built momentum can sustain as I continue on my path.
My practice is a spinning wheel, and cleaning is the oil that lubricates its ball bearings.
