Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Valcik. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Heather, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The majority of my art thus far has been visual and in the form of sculpture-installation, painting, and photography: essentially hand-made pieces in every category. In the past year, I was diagnosed with Autism and severe OCD. Whilst having OCD certainly helps with my productivity in making art, it has been a challenge in learning how to adapt my ability to hyperfocus in a positive direction. The ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) diagnosis is a different beast entirely. It opened my eyes with respect to learning that the way I view life and interpret events is unusual, as is the way I communicate with people. When I looked back at my older work, it’s glaringly apparent I was using art in a desperate attempt to express myself to others, as I was not able to do so verbally. I also discovered that communicating in written form is the best method I have of getting my thoughts and ideas across to an audience. As a result, I started writing a book to get my feelings about this huge transition in my life out of my head and onto paper, I’m hoping to get it published so that my story might help others with similar issues. While the book, entitled ‘Your Planet Frightens Me’, is serious in several aspects, it is equally playful and light-hearted. as well. I wanted to write a book that I, myself would want to read. That said, it has fun features as well, such as pictures, coloring pages, and word searches and other surprise elements scattered throughout the book in an effort to balance the serious content with well-timed, and optional, additional content,
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
After earning my undergraduate degree in Literary Studies and Arts & Performance, I set out ready to take the world by storm. What I managed to do instead was to get married (and subsequently divorced), have two kids and work for a litany of places doing passionless jobs. As those jobs proved to be unsatisfying, I decided I needed another degree to finally be in a creative place where I can put my talents to work helping other people, as that is my ultimate goal. I enrolled again and earned my Master of Fine Arts degree in between working a full time job and being an around the clock single mom. I’ve not managed to find the perfect job for myself yet – the search continues. I’m vying for a few adjunct professor jobs at a local university, as I am keen to teach and share my knowledge with the next generation of artists. In the meantime, I have more free time to focus on my artistic practice. I do freelance commissioned art of most varieties and I am currently wrapping up my first book with the help of a brilliant editor as well.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is having the ability to process and work through feelings in a non-conventional manner. Art allows me to convey my unusual perspectives on issues and topics with others in a meaningful way. One theme that runs throughout my work is finding beauty in the uncommon. With my very wacky brain, I can take an object or subject matter that is commonly thought to be ugly or repugnant and turn it into something beautiful and worth thinking about further.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My creative journey has seen many twists and turns – some good, some not – but all were unexpected. Thus far, I suppose it’s taught me that as much as I would like to think I am in full command of shaping my future, I am very much not. I am still in the process of learning to let go of the need to control every direction my life takes and, instead, trust that things will turn out exactly as they are meant to without any meddling from me. My ultimate career goal is to support myself as a full-time writer and artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hvalcikart.weebly.com/
- Instagram: hvalcikart
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-valcik/