| Heather M. Schmaedeke is a professionally trained artist who received her B.A. in Fine Arts from Saint Xavier University, Chicago. The paintings shown above are from a portfolio of work which was created as a visual dairy to record her inner emotional landscape. The images draw their power from the juxtaposition of unique compositional elements. The stylistic rendering of these elements lends the work a dimension of the not quite wakeful state between consciousness and dreams. The colors chosen reinforce the lyrical qualities of the individual compositions. Although the subject matter is extremely personal to the artist, there are communal elements to the expressions to which the viewer is enticed. This combination of composition and technique challenges the viewer to become actively involved in the painting rather than allowing passive observation. A Chicago native, her work has been exhibited nationally in galleries as well as in private collections. |
