We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Heather Harman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Heather, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am very happy as a creative. After spending almost 30 years working in the corporate world, I don’t have to imagine what it would be like to have a “regular job.” Actually, “regular job” is a term that I, myself need to stop using when referring to what I do and what I used to do. I find that thinking that way diminishes the work I do now and draws a line in the sand of what the world as a whole, family, friends, former coworkers and others deem to be normal. I think we all need to change our way of thinking when it comes to the arts. It is hard work and in many ways creatives must work harder than those in “regular” jobs to survive.

Climbing off my soapbox now… :)
That said, I am trying to do everything I can to go back to the corporate world. While I have always been artistic and even went to school in a creative field, I never imagined I could live as an artist/photographer. Once I took the plunge, I felt like I was finally doing what I was meant to do and becoming who I was meant to be.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always been interested in art and photography and have been drawing almost as long as I can remember and was awarded and recognized in my middle school years for projects here and there. However, I didn’t really get serious about my art and creativity until my junior year in high school with the inspiration and guidance of my art teacher, Karen Rebok Bitner. She helped me work on my first paintings and encouraged me to do more. When it came time to pick a career, I had thought about paths in engineering, architecture, and zoology but decided to go to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh instead, for Industrial Design Technology. After being offered a full-time job with a local engineering firm doing graphic design, my path evolved into a more traditional career in the corporate world. Working mostly in marketing and training departments, my resume came to include web design, writing, photography, developing online training programs and marketing.
After four long years in pain and limited mobility due to a serious back injury in 2015, spinal fusion in late 2017, and a long road to recovery afterwards, I reevaluated my life and decided I had to venture back to my artistic roots. So, in 2019, I took the plunge and left the corporate world to focus on my art, starting with painting in watercolors and acrylic. Since then, I have branched out into photography, pointillism drawings, and am currently working on a coloring book of the Cape Fear Region of North Carolina. I also work as a consultant for other artists, photographers, actors and more on websites, social media, marketing, show set up and layout, promotions and graphic design. In these roles, I help my clients engage potential customers, grow followers, increase presence and help draw more attention to their work and events. Often times, I give them a fresh look at their art and help them select pieces they might not consider otherwise.
One of the things I am most proud of is also what has surprised me the most, and that is my photography work. What only started as a means to source my own reference photos, has become one of my main sources of income and recognition.
No matter what medium I chose in my paintings and drawings, I love the challenge of realism. Being able to capture the tiniest details and nuances of a subject or scene enables me to really learn my subjects and how much of the world can be missed when you don’t look closely. With my photography, I look for unusual views, how the light hits or doesn’t hit a subject, framing a scene so it draws the eyes into it, and focusing in on the details that most people overlook.
No matter the medium favorite subjects are flora and fauna, but I also enjoy other nature scenes as well as man-made scenes. Pretty much anything and everything is fair game to my eclectic eye as I can easily get bored when repeating the same subject types and scenes.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It is the feeling I get when I realize that I got a magical shot or when I know my painting is going exactly where I hoped. There is a spark that ignites in my soul in a way that gets my heart racing and makes me almost breathless. It is a feeling that is hard to describe other than to compare it quite frankly (and very cornily) to falling in love. Only in this case, you fall a bit in love with yourself as you realize you have become a magician. While this may seem a bit arrogant, it is anything but. It comes down to that feeling of belonging but not to or with another person or being, to yourself wholeheartedly. If you know, you know!

Have you ever had to pivot?

It seems my whole life has been about pivoting, but then who’s hasn’t. Other than the major career pivot I discussed earlier, I would have to say my mother’s death was one of the major ones. Watching her suffer and die from the effects of alcoholism before her 57th birthday really makes you think about the uncertainty of life. For me, it drove my decision to move from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. It was something I always dreamed of doing and after her death I just kept thinking, “What am I waiting for?” So, I made the decision and started looking for work in Charlotte and even rented an apartment without having a job lined up. Sometimes, you just have to take risks. For me, NOT taking a risk is usually scarier than sticking with the status quo.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://heharman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/h.e.harmanfineart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/H.E.HarmanFineArtPhotography/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-h-b1314682/
• Other: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-heather-harman

Image Credits

Photo credit: Art Sublimina Photography