The Master Series

Phantasm

A Solo Exhibition of Works by Heather Muise

Artist Statement

My work draws from many sources: carpets, textiles, dreams, icons, alchemical texts and woodcuts, Russian prison tattoos, tarot cards and other symbolic languages. I like to use arcane, codified, and esoteric imagery that conjures up the ideas of magic, imagination and possibilities that may or may not exist in our world, to suggest to the viewer, rather than to narrate.

I try to use imagery, symbols and depictions that are timeless, and universal to made pieces that seem like they were created in the distant past while still connected to the present. Because of this, the tools and methods I use are all centuries old, I deliberately avoid all digital tools and software. From creating the original drawing, etching the copper plate, inking, wiping and finally printing the plate, each step is done entirely by hand. It is both important and meditative to be to be physically involved with each step of my creative and production process.

Bio

Heather Muise received her BFA in Visual Arts from the University of Windsor, Canada, and her MFA concentrating in Printmaking at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Master of Library Science at North Carolina Central University. She taught printmaking in the United Arab Emirates for seven years and seeks to use art as a way to foster communication and collaboration between cultures. She now teaches printmaking at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She is currently working on several print series based on dreams, natural disasters and personal heroes.