Heather Clements

Heather Clements has used art as a catalyst for mental and emotional growth ever since she was a child. While growing up in the D.C. metro area of Northern Virginia, Heather Clements was passionate about art from the very beginning.  Never wavering in her pursuit to be an artist, she graduated cum laude in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.

After graduation Heather moved to Panama City, Florida, where mere months later she became the owner of an art gallery and cultural venue space called Gallery Above. Hosting monthly art exhibits, weekly swing dances and film nights, and countless music performances of local and touring bands, Gallery Above served as the only hub at the time for the sub-culture of Bay County. 2 years later Heather worked at the local arts museum for a short while before deciding to leave and concentrate on her main love: creating art.

For over a decade Heather has been working as a professional artist and art instructor. Her art has exhibited in galleries and museums across the country, from California to Massachusetts.  She has had several solo exhibitions and won many awards for her work including several Best-in-Shows. Recently Heather has created many murals across Northwest Florida, and as far as New York City. She also created the largest mural in the county at 2,000 square feet.

Art for Heather serves as both an escape from reality as well as a deep dive into the depths of her own psyche. After years of personal art and reaching a point where she no longer needed art to be a vehicle for therapy she shifted her focus onto the largest challenge we have ever had: climate change. For several years her work expressed a beautiful connection between humans and nature.

Then in 2018 climate change hit Heather and her entire area directly in the form of Hurricane Michael, which formed unusually and extremely quickly into a category 5. The hurricane not only destroyed Heather’s home leaving her displaced to temporary less-than-ideal living situations for almost 3 years, but it ripped away so much of the natural environment Heather loved. Over millions of acres, the hurricane destroyed 75-90% off all the trees, and 95% of the tree canopy. Lives were turned upside down in a matter of hours. In the months following the hurricane, Heather also suffered multiple personal losses and challenges, all leaving her in a deep depression.

After a year without creating any art, drowning in trauma and loss, Heather decided to take a drastic step toward self-healing. She booked a tiny off-grid treehouse in the woods of the mountains of North Georgia for a week. She yearned to be in a healthy natural environment after hers had been destroyed. Unplugged and isolated, she set out to heal through nature and art. She feared she was abandoning her family for a week to possibly end up crying in a cabin in the woods the whole time. But every morning she hiked and every day she created art until the sun set. She created a series of arresting self portraits with elements of nature, representing all she had lost and all that would then heal her. Inexplicably it worked far better than she could have ever hoped for. That week she clawed out of the depths of her depression, and has never been back.

Heather Clements has used art as a catalyst for mental and emotional growth ever since she was a young child. While growing up in the D.C. metro area of Northern Virginia, Heather Clements never wavered in her pursuit to be an artist. She graduated cum laude in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.

After graduation Heather moved to Panama City, Florida, where mere months later she became the owner of an art gallery and cultural venue space called Gallery Above. Hosting monthly art exhibits, weekly swing dances and film nights, and countless music performances of local and touring bands, Gallery Above served as the hub for the sub-culture of Bay County. 2 years later Heather worked at the local arts museum for a short while before deciding to leave and concentrate on her main love: creating art.

For 15 years Heather has been working as a professional artist and art instructor. Her work has focused consistently on humans and our connection with nature. Often combining playful abstractions with realistic portraits, her drawings, oil paintings, cut-paper, and watercolors have exhibited in galleries and museums all across the United States. She has had several solo exhibitions and won many awards for her work including several Best-in-Shows. Recently Heather has created many murals across Northwest Florida, and as far as New York City.

In 2018 climate change hit Heather and her entire area directly in the form of Hurricane Michael, which formed unusually and extremely quickly into a category 5. The hurricane not only destroyed Heather’s home leaving her displaced to temporary less-than-ideal living situations for almost 3 years, but it ripped away so much of the natural environment Heather loved. Over millions of acres, the hurricane destroyed 75-90% off all the trees, and 95% of the tree canopy. In the months following the hurricane, Heather also suffered multiple personal losses and challenges, all leaving her in a deep depression.

After a year without creating any art, drowning in trauma and loss, Heather decided to take a drastic step toward self-healing. She booked a tiny off-grid treehouse in the woods of the mountains of North Georgia for a week. Unplugged and isolated, she set out to heal through nature and art. She feared she might just cry for a week, but every morning she hiked and every day she created art until the sun set. She created works about loss that healed her. Inexplicably it worked far better than she could have ever hoped for. That week she clawed out of the depths of her depression, and has never been back.

In 2023 Heather relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, after falling in love with the mountains, endless forest trails, and thriving arts community. Asheville promised to be a haven in the changing climate, and yet recently Hurricane Helene ravaged her life yet again, this time sparing her home, but destroying the gallery and teaching space she belonged to in River Arts District. Through nature and art, and the arts community, Heather is healing again.

Her recent work has focused on interactivity: her new book, “Pull Me Apart” is full of pull tabs, spin wheels, and more, for people to manipulate and play. She has also expanded into creating interactive murals, where visitors can spin a giant wooden wheel, revealing different images behind cut-out areas of the design. Heather is embracing her inner-most weirdo, and creating the art that most wants to come screaming out of her. Paradoxically, when we create something truly for ourselves, it’s what others connect with most. Exploring that beautiful interconnectivity of us all motivates Heather’s continued creative pursuits.