November/December 2011 Cover Artist
Color My World
by Audrey Heller
Objects that we live with tell stories — every dent in a car, every water ring on a table, every handle of a tool worn smooth by years of use — holds a piece of our personal history.
Working with figurines and playing with scale, I invite the viewer to take a fresh look at common things, and I hope to evoke memories and associations, as well as smiles.
Shades (featured on the cover of New Connexion) stirs up particularly delightful stories. The “64 box” is an emblem of childhood — one of the first great objects of desire that many of us experience. The exquisite smell, the perfect flattened points, the lovely order that must be sacrificed in order to put the colors to use — I discovered an unexpected passion in these recollections.
This particular box is used by the children in my world, and I love how the wear on the crayons reflect the drawings that they make. I imagine the figures striking out on a great adventure of imagination and creation, emboldened by each other’s support.
Audrey Heller, author of the photo book Overlooked Undertakings, is a San Francisco-based artist with a deep affection for the Northwest. She exhibits at festivals around the country, including Portland and Seattle, and her work is collected and published internationally. Visit www.audreyheller.com.
