LGBTQ Artist Profile:
Celeste J. Heery Refused to Stay in the Lines
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Celeste Heery, a lesbian and an artist, is originally from Virginia but after visiting Asheville twice she relocated to the Paris of the South a year ago because she “fell in love with the mountain views and the gay-friendly and cultural environment.”
In her artist statement, Celeste J. Heery says, “I have always hesitated to paint because I felt that I was never good enough at it. For a long time, I appreciated the art of the masters and felt that if I couldn't paint like they did, why should I bother?”
But seven years ago, Heery told me, “I began to dabble with acrylics and wax as an outlet. Something was pushing out, needing to be expressed.
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And her fondness for abstract expressionists gave her the encouragement she needed.
“I have always loved the abstract expressionists, and found their work less intimidating than other artists. I thought, ‘I think I could do something like that!’”
Her affinity for the art of masters like Kandinsky, Pollock, de Kooning, and Jonas Gerard is not surprising. She told me that her favorite refrigerator art creation as a child was a “…simple watercolor painting, with…brown, pink, red and yellow squares surrounded by a green ‘frame.’”
She also confessed that she “hated coloring” and “refused to stay in the lines.” Abstract expressionism has little to do with “staying in the lines” so it was a natural artistic direction for her.
Heery works primarily in acrylics but experimented with oils, sand, glass and wax in her free-flowing and fast moving paintings, which are colorful and full of emotion. Some of her favorite subjects are self-improvement, spirituality, and art and she seems to express these interests through and in her paintings.
Heery explained that she doesn’t look for inspiration or subjects for her paintings but “stands at the canvas and lets them come through [her]. I open the paint jars, put a canvas on the wall in my garage, and just start painting. I rarely have any preconceived ideas about the outcome.”
She is “retired” from a job she had for 14 years in Washington, D.C. so painting is not her sole support. But for her, being an artist is a dream come true. Like most artists, Heery would be content to support herself through her art but is more realistic about it and at the same time more idealistic, too.
“Of course, most artists would love to be able to live off their passion, so that would be my utopia; however, on a smaller scale I would like to be able to share my art with those who can't afford the really expensive stuff out there. Just knowing one of my paintings is in someone's home is very gratifying…though being able to pay for supplies is important,” she explained.
I asked Heery about the relevance of painting in the high-tech digital world of today. Her answer reminded me of people who still cherish the experience of hearing music on long playing vinyl records and folks who will never surrender their books printed on crisp paper with the blackest of inks for an electronic reader.
Heery said, “No new technology can take the place of a piece of art you can put your hands on in order to feel its vibe and texture.”
Like many artists, Heery says that one of her biggest challenges is “Trying to find exposure to the right clientèle for my type of work.” And that is challenging on two fronts, one being finding a buyer and the other being able to “strike a chord and resonate with someone in a good way.”
If you want to see some of Celeste J. Heery’s art, you can visit her website, www.celestejheery.com, where you will find many of her paintings as well as some other interesting stuff like her “hot topics” section where she discusses issues like fear and spirituality. If you want to see some of her paintings in person, she will be a vendor at the Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival on Sunday, September 7, and at the Woodfin Community Center Arts & Craft Show on September 20.
In the meantime, you can check out some of her work on display around the area at The Appalachian Artisan Society Gallery in Old Fort, Silent Poetry in Burnsville, Mountain Java in Candler, and Urban Burrito on Patton Avenue in Asheville.
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