Heather Allen-Swarttouw is a mixed media artist. The idea of the vessel, relationships and the metaphor of a journey inspires her work. A boat symbolizes a journey and a vessel can symbolize self, they are both personal and universal. These vessels are enigmatic being boat pod shapes or pod tool shapes or tool vessel shapes.
She received her BFA degree in painting and sculpture from the University of New Hampshire and her MFA degree in textiles from the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth. Her work has been shown in numerous venues including the Wustum Museum of Fine Art, WI, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, NC, Asheville Art Museum, NC, Atlanta International Museum of Art, GA, American Institute of Architects, DC, Wesserling Textile Museum, France, and the Singapore Art Museum.
Her work is in the collection of the Racine Art Museum, WI, North Carolina Arts Commission, Fidelity Investments, MA, First Union Bank, NC, Trans Financial Bank, TN, and the Biltmore Estate, NC. She has received a NEA Regional Fellowship, a TN Arts Commission Fellowship and two artist residencies at Centrum Center for the Arts (WA).
