Circle clay arms by Heidi Anderson

Heidi’s Protectors are wheel thrown and then formed and sculpted with added embellishments individually cut from clay. She uses the color of the clay as the main decorative element in her work; colors that lend themselves to the California landscapes and desert scapes that she so deeply love. She uses a variety of earth-toned clays; from deep browns and reds to light speckled off-whites. She also experiment with using mica infused clay to create an alternate dimension of light and reflection.

Her work is constantly evolving and draws upon many influences; from fine art to folk art and the everyday handmade. She has come to see her figurative work in sculpture as modern day folk art. There is no single definition of what folk art is, but the definition that resonates with Heidi most is as defined by the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico: Folk art is “of, by, and for the people; all people, inclusive of class, status, culture, community, ethnicity, gender, and religion.” Heidi deeply identifys with this definition, and believes that it speaks to the totems/Protector people that she makes. But beyond being artful pieces, She likes to think of her Protector people as spirit beings; as altars and/or totems that serve as an emblem of the importance of nature and our relationship to it, and the sense of connection and appreciation that I derive from being in nature. She sees them uniting the animal and the spiritual, as well as the earthly with the mystical.