Get to know the artist

who I am, why I create, and what I've done

Who I am

(biography)

Hi, I'm Heather Clements

I am an artist creating and sharing beauty with meaning.  

While growing up in the D.C. metro area of Northern Virginia, I was passionate about art from the very beginning.  In 2007, I graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. After graduation was the perfect time to branch out to unfamiliar territories while I was still young and free. I ended up on the road with some friends to Panama City, Florida, a town I had never heard of.

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Months after moving to the Panhandle, at just 22 years old, I took a giant leap and became the owner of the Gallery Above, an amazing art gallery that was the hub for the sub-culture of the area. Serving as a place for innovation, Gallery Above hosted monthly art exhibits, music events for local and nationally touring bands, film nights, swing dances, and so much more. “No one I know is doing more for local art and artists than Heather Clements and her Gallery Above.” – Michael Lister, News Herald.

After two years of gallery ownership, I became the Exhibitions Manager and Graphic Designer for the Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida. There I curated many large and exciting exhibits, but in 2010 I decided to leave and concentrate on what I have always loved most: creating my own art.

I am now a full-time artist and art instructor, and I am still very involved in the local arts community. My art has exhibited in galleries and museums across the country, from California to Massachusetts.  I have had the honor of procuring several solo exhibitions and winning many awards for my art in local and regional exhibits.

Always drawing inspiration from the human figure, my art mixes tight realistic portraiture with rich metaphors.  Exploring mathematical and transcendent connections with flora and fauna, my work celebrates a symbiosis between humans and nature. I perpetually try to create beautiful and meaningful images.

Why I create

(artist statement)

We live in a culture that has lost our deep connection with our home: the wilderness, the Earth. In my art, I visually explore the relationships between the people of our culture and the natural world. This in itself is a paradox, because humans are not separate from nature, but a part of nature. My work reflects a positive message of hope for a symbiotic interdependence between humans and our organic surroundings.

What I've done

(Résumé)

Education

Maryland Institute College of Art [MICA], Baltimore, MD, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting, May 2007

Solo Exhibitions

2018  We Are Nature: Art by Heather Clements, Panama City Center for the Arts Main Gallery, FL

2015  Human Nature: Heather Clements, Gulf Coast State College Amelia Center Main Gallery, Panama City, FL

2013  Cut It Out: Cut Paper Art by Heather Clements, Bay County Public Library, Panama City, FL

2012  I Cut Paper: Art by Heather Clements, Studio b., Alys Beach, FL

2010  Heather Clements –A Selection of Works: Past, Present, but not Future, Gulf Coast Community College, Panama City, FL

2008  Octopus’s Garden: Art by Heather Clements, Tupelo Theater, Wewahitchka, FL

2007  I Draw People - The Art of Heather Clements, Gallery Above, Panama City, FL

Selected Group Exhibitions

2019  Winter Exhibit, Foster Gallery, Santa Rosa Beach, FL and Mirimar Beach, FL

2017  Grand Opening Exhibition, Fringe Gallery, Panama City, FL

2016  Maker's Mark: A Sketchbook Exhibit (3-woman show), Mosey's, Panama City, FL

2012/14/15/16  Top of the Class, Juried Exhibition, Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County, FL

2015  A Step Into Spring, Juried Exhibition, Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA

2015  Musae, Juried Exhibition, Pensacola, FL

2014  A Cut Above, Highfield Hall and Garden, Falmouth, MA

2014  Nature Inspired, Guild of American Papercutters National Museum, Somerset, PA

2014  St. Andrews Inspired, Floriopolis, Panama City, FL

2012/13  Northstar Annual Art Show, Panama City, FL

2012  Dia de los Muertos, ChimMaya Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2012  Heather Heather Heather (3-woman show), CityArts Cooperative, Panama City, FL

2011  Figure It Out, Studio b., Alys Beach, FL

2011  BOLD, A&M Theater, Panama City, FL

2009  Opening Exhibition, Studio B, Alys Beach, FL

2008/09  Light, Gallery Above, Panama City, FL

2007/08  Darkness, Gallery Above, Panama City, FL

2007  Commencement Exhibition, Fox Gallery, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2004  Selections from the Painting Department, Brown 3 Gallery, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2002/03  Something Hot, Gallery 222, Leesburg, VA

Selected Awards

2017 + 2016  Best of Show, 53rd + 54th Bay Annual, Panama City Center for the Arts, FL

2017 + 2016  1st Place, Public Eye Soar International Projection Art Festival, Panama City, FL

2017  Best of Show, 58th Annual Beaux Arts Exhibition, Fort Walton Beach, FL

2016  1st Place, and People's Choice Award, Northwest Florida Art Battle

2015 + 2014  2nd Place, Public Eye Soar, Panama City, FL

2015 + 2014 + 2012  Merit Award, Top of the Class Juried Exhibit, Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County, FL

2014  1st Place, Figure It Juried Exhibit, Arts and Design Society of Fort Walton Beach, FL

2013  Best in Show, Central Panhandle Fair Art Exhibit, Bay County, FL

2013 + 2008  Merit Award, Bay Annual, Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida

2007  Cum Laude, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2003-2007  Dean’s List, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2003-2007  Presidential Scholarship, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2003  1st Place, Excellence in the Arts, Loudoun Arts Council, Loudoun County, VA

1999  1st Place in Art, Terry and Sherry Malone Foundation, Loudoun County, VA

Selected Press

2018  "Clements' Work Declares 'We Are Nature,'" Panama City News Herald

2016  "Artist Heather Clements," Panama City Living Magazine

2015  "Artist's Touch: Embracing a Natural Humanity," PanamaCity.com print and online

2014  "Artist Interview," www.CLAWCLAW.com

2013  "Cut It Out: Artist's work connects with man, nature," PanamaCity.com print and online

2013  "The Business Side of Papercutting," First Cut Newsletter

2013  "Portrait of the people artist, Heather Clements," Panama City Life Magazine

2012  "Artist Opens Exhibit of Paper Cut Work," Walton Sun

2011  "A Cut Above The Rest: Artist Rocks Paper, Scissors," News Herald

2011  “Paper Garden Blooms at VAC,” Bay County Bullet

2010  Featured Artist, Beachcomber

2008  “Shaking Up the PC Arts Scene,” Cover Story, 5-page article, Coastal Homes and Lifestyles Magazine

2008  Cover Artist, Entertainer, News Herald

2008  "Panama City Artist Brings Show to Tupelo Theater," (Cover Story) Gulf County Breeze

2008  Featured Artist (February- April,) Bay Arts Magazine (Cover and article)

2008  Artist of the month (January), EmeraldCoast.com

2007-2013  Cover Artist, Panama City Visitors Map

2007  Featured Artist (December,) Coastal Style MagazineSelected

Affiliations

2018 - present  Board of Directors, Bay Arts Alliance

2010 - present  Director at CityArts Cooperative [Public Relations and Marketing Manager, Director Recruitment]

2007 - 2015  Member of Panama City Artists (organization dissolved)

2012 - present  Member of Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County

2012 - present  Member of Guild of American Papercutters

Experience

Full Time Professional Artist 2010 - present:

Fine art, commissioned art

Art Instructor 2007 - present:

(Figure Drawing, Portrait Drawing, Youth Art, Adult Art, Paper Cutting, Watercolor)

See current offering of classes and workshops

CityArts Cooperative, Panama City, FL 2010-present

Arts and Design Society, Fort Walton Beach, FL 2014-present

Panama City Center for the Arts, FL 2015-present

Gulf Coast State College, Panama City, FL 2015-present

Bayou Arts Center, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 2016-present

Studio b., Alys Beach, FL 2009-2012

Visual Arts Center, Panama City, FL 2009-2010

Michaels, Panama City, FL 2007

Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida, Panama City, FL 2009 - 2010:

Exhibitions Manager and Graphic Designer

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Gallery Above, Panama City, FL 2007 - 2009: 

[The Gallery Above was a contemporary art gallery, housing a center of the arts for the sub-culture of the area]

Owner/Operator: monthly exhibit curation, graphic design, public relations, marketing, event organization, sales, accounting

Bonus Videos

art in motion