About – Sarah Heckles

Pare down to the essence, but don’t remove the poetry. – Leonard Koren

I seek ways to animate mundane and overlooked natural elements, pushing the inherent stillness of these materials towards a vibrant and spirited form, inspired by the human body and the joyful rhythmic ways in which we move. The technique is careful and exact. My goal is to allow nature to reveal its organic line. The worn, misshapen, and raw edges are honored and intentional. The absence of material— the negative space— reflecting a vibrant, visceral and crucial part of each figure’s movement. My chosen medium is delicate and near translucent, with a natural sienna tone. It is the skin of the humble garden onion.

Gallery Shows

2023 October-November
Audacious Onions, solo exhibition, Eastside Coffee Bar & Workspace, Portland, Oregon

2023 May
Flow, group exhibition, The Livingston Center for Art and Culture, Livingston, Montana

2021 May
Dancing Onions, solo exhibition, Lei Gallery, Taichung, Taiwan

2020 November
Mud & Color II, group ceramic exhibition, Lei Gallery, Taichung, Taiwan

Biography

2012-current
Artist and owner of Heckles Creative, a brand and graphic design consultancy specializing in visual communications for products and services. Celebrating 13 years in 2024.

2016-2021
Lived and worked in Taichung, Taiwan.

1993-2011
Art Director, Wild Planet Entertainment, San Francisco, CA
Art Director, Polese Clancy, Boston, MA
Ceramics Instructor, Introduction to Handbuilding Forms, Brookline Arts Center, Boston, MA
Art Director, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Adjunct Instructor, Communication Arts Department, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, PA
Art Director, DLD Advertising, PA
Senior Designer, Holberg Design, PA

1990-1993
Associate Degree in Graphic Design, Bradley Academy for the Visual Arts, PA
Visual Communication / Commercial Art Program, Lancaster County Career & Technology Center, PA

Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

On the side

I volunteer my time with Hygiene 4 All, a hygiene hub for unsheltered residents of Portland’s Central Eastside and Adopt One Block, picking up trash in my community, on a regular basis and far beyond one block.

I’m also a beekeeper, but let’s be honest, honeybees are a smart super organism and don’t require much human intervention. I simply enjoy observing them, providing a safe habitat, and growing native plants for them. I also catch wild honeybees swarms in the springtime, which is my most adrenaline inducing hobby.

Proud member of Portland Urban Beekeepers, an official chapter of the Oregon State Beekeepers Association.