About Heidi K. Henderson

As a child Heidi was praised for her neatness and coloring inside the lines, but no more. The whimsical, hidden depths of her layered oil paintings are inspired by the chaotic yet cyclical ebb and flow of nature.

The intricacy of a seedpod or sensual curve of a gourd plucked from her kitchen garden gathers a surreal character when Heidi applies her vibrant viewpoint to a canvas of old doors and reclaimed wood. A passion for sustainable and eco-friendly art has spun off her painted creations into Organic Digital Designs.

Hardly "inside the lines."

One of Heidi's favorite ideas was her Ellie Sodaphant™ journals. In collaboration with other vendors using a soda bottle shredding/straining/pressing technique for sturdy and printable fabric, Heidi has her unique patterns printed on the fabric, which she can then use to create the journal covers. Add natural paper that is created from elephant dung - dyed in a variety of colors - and you have one-of-a-kind journals. She smiles at the incidental posthumous tribute to her sister, who loved elephants and ecology and was very supportive of her work.

"My whole family is very supportive," she adds. Her other sister is a kindred gardener. Her mother is a talented seamstress and her father enjoys helping Heidi design and construct unique displays and reclaimed furniture for her studio.

Growing up in Paynesville, Minn., Heidi gravitated toward art and music and actually received an art scholarship and a music scholarship as a pianist to attend the College of St. Benedict. Graduating in 1993 with a B.A. in studio art, she interned at a gallery in St. Paul and spent her free time experimenting with different mediums in her apartment. Her first art show was in 1997 at a St. Paul coffee shop. She served chocolate chip cookies and milk, showcasing another talent.

"I'm known as the baker in my family," she admits.

Citing her musical influences as well as artists like Georgia O'Keeffe, Chris Mars, Marc Shagell and Frida Kahlo, Heidi has continued to expand her work to new invitationals, juried exhibitions and venues, including the Target Gallery at Saint John's University, the Minnesota State Fair, Bloomington Art Center and Textile Center of Minnesota.

Her creations are available at select Twin Cities retailers and galleries as well as her studio at the Northrup King Building - a community of about 150 artists in an old grain facility in northeast Minneapolis.

When she isn't observing dinosaur kale, ochra, perennials, gourds and various herbs at her home in Excelsior, Heidi draws inspiration from her job at Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista. From the shapes and colors of chicken eggs to tadpoles, Heidi loves the juxtaposition of nature with the modern world.

"That way, I can place a shoe upside down in a tree and it works," she says with a laugh.

Artist Statement

Résumé (Paintings)

Inspirations

Rocks in shadow, chartreuse colored moss, Balloon flowers, Milkweed and Baptisia and Peony pods, layers of feathers, colorful fish scales, seeds: Jack in the Pulpit, Scarlet Runner Beans, miniature details in: beetles' bodies, butterfly wings, grasshoppers and dragonflies, flowers' innards and outers, the inside of a dried-out avocado peel, gnarled tree bodies and roots, driftwood worn, agates' swirls and rings, the coil of a baby fern fond, the structure of lotus pods, the color and shape of chestnuts and pomegranates, clusters of sumac berries...

Influences

Quotes. Paintings by: Chris Mars, Daniel Merrium, Marc Chagall, Margo Selski, Mike Wohnoutka, James Christensen. Children’s books and illustrations. The lives of Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe. The architectural antique store Guilded Salvage. Far away places. Iconography (Russian). Jean Léon Gérôme (painter). Max Ernst (painter) – particularly his piece Fireside Angel. Russian (miniature) lacquer art. The intaglio/etching process. My immediate family and very close friends. Drawing from the past...

In The Press

May 2008 I am honored to be one of four artists interviewed by Minnesota Women's Press publication for creating eco-conscious artwork.

November 2007 I was featured on KARE 11 during Blue Print for Green's segment (the downloadable clip is just my portion of the entire segment). They highlighted the eco-friendly nature of my paintings and textile products. [ MP4 format / 1 minute, 19 seconds / 3.3 MB ]

March 30, 2005 “Paynesville native's art on exhibit at St. John's” was an article from the Paynesville Press newspaper.

November 30, 2004 “The Wood & I: Images by Heidi Henderson” was an article from the Pulse of the Twin Cities newspaper.