Heather studied History of Art, English and French at Trinity College, Dublin where she created cartoons for the college magazine and spent a lot of time acting in its Dramatic Society known as Players.
Although life in the theatre was appealing, she decided to take the safer option of teaching as a career and went to Homerton College, Cambridge. Here she discovered collage, weaving and printing which were useful as a class teacher and Head of Drama at Clifton College Preparatory School. She was responsible for over 40 stage productions in the Redgrave Theatre and the involvement with set design and painting, make-up, costumes, poster design and composition of visual effects, all contributed to the artistic experience and influence the two dimensional textile pictures she now creates.
Since retiring from teaching she has devoted her time to art. She is a keen member of Rachel Hemming Bray’s life-drawing class, has attended courses on watercolour painting and silk painting and has taken part in many Embroiderers’ Guild workshops.
Each picture is unique and she combines her recently-acquired skills with a fair amount of experimentation. Above all she hopes to convey a sense of joy and fun. Working with some new materials and some used, found or recycled appeals to her sense of thrift as well as being “green”. Heather is a member of the Embroiderers’ Guild, the Clifton Arts club and a Friend of the Royal West of England Academy.