Heather Roy's Page

I am an artist and teacher of young children. These two things are both deep calls for me. I find it difficult to manage them, and have a family, friends, and other interests. I know that all these things are harmonious, so balance is my constant prayer.

Most of my artwork is a combination of figurative and abstract painting/mixed media. I seem to need the figure at times to anchor the work in something that is human. Often I am searching for a place as I work, an imaginative space, dreamlike, frequently dark like the ground beneath us.

This site interests me as an opportunity to explore the aspect of artmaking which many artists are afraid to own up to - the huge part of it that is not mine, but guided by spirit.
The experience of making the work sometimes feels like "automic writing" .

The experience of trying to show my work in galleries has mostly been a litany of discouragement, as I have neither the time nor the personality to "flog" my work in the necessary ways. I do need the work to be seen, though, so I am currently pushing myself to get out there. I'd much rather be in my cozy studio, listening to music, smelling the paint and feeling the warmth.

The artist's solipsistic argument - can the work be any good when it is never seen by anyone? The question is - what is the work for, beyond gratifying my own need to make it? I don't have a political or social agenda in my work, but an overwhelming need to explore origins, transpersonal depth, and creation itself. I like to think it reaches people in unfamiliar places within themselves, a kindof spiritual flashlight to explore the night. Sometimes it does.