Internationally recognized and award-winning British Artist Sandra Jane Heard presents three evocative works from her Verdant Echoes collection—Sepia Sight I, Sepia Sight II, and Dreaming in Black and Blue—as part of Equinox 2.0 at La Vie Guarda, curated by Xochi Art Gallery.

Heard’s career spans prestigious museum exhibitions and national biennials, earning distinctions from institutions including the Toledo Museum of Art, The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and Evansville Museum of Art. Her latest works continue her exploration of nature’s cycles of growth and decay, combining ink, found materials, and sculptural form in a visual dialogue between control and chance, fragility and endurance.

Known for her evocative mixed-media works, Heard’s practice traverses sculpture, ink, and found natural materials to explore the interconnected themes of nature, time, and transformation.

Heard’s work draws deeply from the landscapes that have shaped her—ranging from the wooded horizons of Minneapolis to the expansive grandeur of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Her art inhabits the delicate space between the seen and the unseen, merging the physical environment with the intangible realms of memory, emotion, and imagination.

The catalyst for Heard’s latest series,Verdant Echoes, emerged from a period of isolation, when the limited views from a window became portals into a heightened awareness of the natural world. Using ink on paper and sculptural forms crafted from Mitsumata branches, Heard captures fleeting moments of beauty—skeletal trees, open skies, and the quiet decay of organic matter.

Her process embraces chance and fluidity: inks bleed and merge unpredictably, echoing the impermanence and spontaneity of life itself. Through this surrender to the medium, Heard achieves a distilled and authentic expression—one that blurs the boundaries between reality and abstraction.

At the heart ofVerdant Echoeslies a reflection on nature’s fragility and resilience. The works resonate with a dialogue between growth and decay, destruction and renewal—an artistic meditation on the persistence of life even as it transforms.

Technique

“The work is an attempt to absorb nature into my being, to internalize its splendor and sublime magnificence; and to express this through the medium of ink on paper and sculptures of bound branches.”

Of importance to Heard is the quality of the line, the interplay of color, and the balance of negative and positive space—each element melding into a dynamic and compelling expression.

The works begin with the application of a resist liquid agent onto white paper. Heard then manipulates and moves the paper to guide this liquid across the surface into the desired form. Once the resist has hardened, she works ink into the composition—sometimes with precision, sometimes allowing the process to surprise her.

“At times it feels like I have complete mastery over the process,” Heard reflects, “but there is also an element of surprise when the lines of ink that I navigate across the paper go rogue, and follow an unexpected path.”

This dynamic, where control and chaos coexist, becomes emblematic of the unpredictability of life itself—a meditation on the delicate balance between intention and surrender. It is about relinquishing control and accepting the accidental, uncontrollable beauty of existence.

Symbolism of Color in the Works

• White: Absence, loss, and the passage of time
• Black: Knowledge of mortality and the unknown
• Sepia: Remembrance and a wish to preserve

These restrained tones evoke a quiet emotional resonance—each hue a vessel for memory, reflection, and transformation.

What began as introspection during global lockdowns evolved into a profound exploration of renewal. Through observation, hiking, and immersion in wild landscapes, Heard translates experience into tactile form. Her sculptural pieces—rooted in natural materials—mirror the cycles of life and regeneration, inviting viewers to contemplate their own connection to nature’s enduring rhythm.

Verdant Echoesis more than a series of artworks; it is an invitation to slow down, to witness, and to rediscover the beauty in transformation.

Career

Since relocating to the United States, Heard has exhibited widely across North America, gaining recognition for her distinctive use of organic materials and her contemplative engagement with the natural world. Her work has been featured in major juried exhibitions, national biennials, and museum shows, earning numerous awards for both innovation and craftsmanship.

Heard’s first major solo exhibition was presented at The Sylvia White Gallery in Ventura, California (2013), following her national juried award from the same institution in 2012. Subsequent solo exhibitions includeSentinels of Steelat the Kimura Gallery, University of Alaska (2014) andRust-Belt-Museat River House Arts in Perrysburg, Ohio (2014).

Throughout her career, Heard has been an active participant in prestigious group exhibitions across the United States and Canada. Her work has appeared at institutions such as the Toledo Museum of Art (OH), Indianapolis Art Center (IN), The Dairy Barn Arts Center (OH), The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (PA), Evansville Museum of Art (IN), and the Muskegon Museum of Art (MI), among many others. Internationally, her work was shown at the 7th Biennale Internationale du Lin de Portneuf in Québec, Canada (2017).

Heard’s contributions to contemporary fiber and mixed-media art have been recognized through a series of notable distinctions, including:

• Juror Award (2nd Place), 93rd Annual Toledo Area Artists Show, Toledo Museum of Art (2011)
• Best Body of Work, Eye of the Beholder, Circle Gallery, Maryland Federation of Art (2011)
• National Juried Exhibit Award, Sylvia White Gallery, Ventura, CA (2012)
• Best of Show, The Will’s Creek Survey, Saville Gallery, Cumberland, MD (2012)
• Museum Guild Purchase Award, Evansville Museum of Art, Indiana (2013)
• The Directors’ Award, Fiberart International, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (2013)
• Best of Show (3D), Will’s Creek Survey, Cumberland, MD (2014)
• Coordinator’s Award, International Fiber Arts VII, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, CA (2015)
• Honorable Mention, Textile Icons and the New Edge, Muskegon Museum of Art & Dennos Museum of Art (2015–2016)

Her work has consistently drawn critical attention for its sensitivity to material and form, combining natural processes with a disciplined sense of structure. Through her evolving practice, Heard continues to investigate the tension between fragility and strength—using the very materials of the natural world to reflect on impermanence, renewal, and the quiet endurance of life.

Today, Sandra Jane Heard’s art stands as a dialogue between nature and consciousness, merging sculpture, drawing, and abstraction into a cohesive visual language that honors transformation in all its forms.

Explore the Sandra Jane Heard Collection