In the Studio
Everything starts here in my studio.
Heather Hancock in the studio preparing Realize3 for grouting
My studio space
Mosaics are messy. There's literally glass everywhere. Having this dedicated studio space has totally changed how I'm able to work.
I spend a lot of time with my sketchbook/journal exploring concepts + visual vocabulary on paper. Generally I start in written form, identifying an area of interest or a connection that I find interesting and writing to clarify the idea (in fact the role of language as a tool for clarifying and framing ideas is one of those recurrent ideas). Most of my 'inputs' come from reading in my professional literature: language and cognition. Maybe because of my science background, I tend to start projects with hypotheses and goals. Sketching and drawing is then all about finding a visual representation of this abstract idea or hypothesis. I often find visual references in the natural world (ie foliage, the line of a vine, the shape of oil on water) to re-purpose for my explorations.
I generally do small-scale drawings and resize in photoshop to create full-scale patterns. I use my markers to do basic color planning. And then develop palettes using actual glass samples.
Color planning with markers
Precision cutting is integral to my work. My visual vocabulary depends on being able to make glass curve and flow. I generally do direct method so I'm working on the right side of my glass. I use weldbond adhesive or thinset to adhere individually cut pieces of glass directly on a sealed wood/MDF surface. The piece always changes and evolves as I cut it so I do a fair amount of editing and revising. As in, cranking glass off and removing adhesives then re-cutting and adhering.
To make this easier, I am starting to use the double reverse method. Glass is adhered to sticky paper laid over the pattern and then face-taped and transferred to the final substrate. This has worked for small scale pieces and makes editing and revising so much easier.
Face-taped mosaic elements for Impel splash2 ready for installation
About
Mosaic Art by Heather Hancock
In my mosaic work, I re-imagine an ancient medium with traditionally decorative and functional uses as a vehicle for exploring contemporary issues in cognition, language and social identity. My work attempts to re-assert the relevance and essential meaningfulness of glass as a conceptual medium. Glass serves literally as a lens to transmit and focus light, and metaphorically as a channel through which something can be seen or understood. I use the highly physical and permanent media of glass, grout and paint to explore the ephemeral cognitive experiences of attending, perceiving and comprehending.
The interaction between the media of glass, grout and paint and the intangible medium of light in my work underscores the significance of both material and immaterial dimensions. Light parallels the transience of the cognitive moment and ensures the dynamic nature of the work across space and time. The permanent is thereby rendered transient by changes in lighting conditions and viewers' perspectives.
Mosaic Art by Heather Hancock
"In my art, I reinterpret the ancient form of mosaics to produce works that capture the vibrancy and inter-connectedness of contemporary urban life. My current mosaic work uses a personal vocabulary of geometric and organic shapes enriched by the vibrant colors of Italian glass and details from ceramics and hardware. Color and rhythms play off each other to explore patterns and surprises in nature and life. I use grout not only to bind the fragile glass but also consciously as an element within the work in its own right, completing patterns in negative space."
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
Mosaics at St Matthews Gallery. Evanston, IL; October 2008 - September 2009.
Unicorn Coffehouse. Evanston, IL; February 2008.
Animated Urban: New Work. The Writers WorkSpace, 5443 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL. Mar 16 - Sep 30, 2007.
New Work. The Brothers K. Evanston, IL. Jun 4 - Aug 3, 2007.
Group Exhibitions
Art Under Glass. Juried exhibition. Downtown Evanston storefronts, Evanston, IL; October 21 - February 10, 2010.
The Artist Project. Juried exhibition. Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL; April 24-28, 2008.
Around the Coyote - Fall Arts Festival 2007. Juried exhibition. Flat Iron Arts Building, Chicago, IL; Oct 12-14, 2007.
Curator's Choice at Chicago Art Open. Iron Studios, 3636 S. Iron St., Chicago, IL; Oct 4–27, 2007.
4mosaicists. Group show. Uncommon Ground, 3800 N Clark, Chicago, IL; Oct 16-Nov 13, 2006.
Around the Coyote - Fall Arts Festival 2006. Juried exhibition. Flat Iron Arts Building, Chicago, IL; Sep 8-10, 2006.
Beneath the Surface. Society of American Mosaic Artists 2006 Juried Exhibition. High Risk Gallery, Chicago, IL, March 9-31, 2006.
Around the Coyote - Fall Arts Festival 2005. Juried exhibition. Flat Iron Arts Building, Chicago, IL; Sep 9-11, 2005.
A More Perfect Union: Mosaic Aspirations. Society of American Mosaic Artists 2005 Juried Exhibition. Ellipse Gallery, Arlington, VA, March - May, 2005.
American Mosaic Project. South Carolina, Texas and Washington, D.C., 2004-2005.
In Pieces. Midwest Mosaic Invitational. TZ Gallery 1834 W. North Ave. Chicago, IL Nov 3 - Dec 2, 2004.
Opus Veritas: Fragments of Truth. An International Juried Exhibition of Mosaic Art (presented by the Society of American Mosaic Artists). Museo ItaloAmericano, San Francisco, CA; Jan - Apr 2004.
Contact Heather
Information about Heather's commission process is available here.
Heather welcomes inquiries regarding art pieces for sale, mosaic commissions or mosaic installations by phone at 847.951.6284 or via this form (* fields are required):
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