Heidi Alonzo uses a variety of painting and drawing media on paper to create her art. She has been painting by the Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley for over 35 years.
Heidi Alonzo’s work is narrative and representational including figures- human or animal- and landscapes combined with geometry, featuring color and pattern. Geometry and math are interesting to her being a language that speaks creation. She was always fascinated by how plants, nature and atomic structures followed an ordered structure. As a young girl, She witnessed her sister becoming obsessed with the idea that mathematics could explain the existence of God. Heidi kept pace by immersing herself in images of formulas and seeing the beauty in patterns and different forms of writing.
Heidi’s direction grew through a deep interest in writing. Stories and words always seemed visual and she would often see complicated plots and storylines in a visual flash of insight. Her ideas often present as a vision like a waking dream. Her art represents stories and myths. Joseph Campbell identified twelve stages in the hero’s journey retold in similar forms by many cultures across eras. Modern myths are being made today in our day-to-day living, even if not noticed. Her quest is to visually explore those moments that shape a person’s time on this planet. She creates art that leaves the viewer contemplating human existence. What is your purpose? What are you doing here? Is this all there is? Is there more than the mundane? You are different than most life in that as humans you strive to create meaning out of your time living. Your minds are capable of imagination as evidenced by the many myths and stories you have told to explain the unknown and passed down through generations. Heidi’s work evokes the ethereal or hints at an unseen plane of existence. It explores spirituality and an interest in magical realism.
Painting in two dimensions best suits her vision of visual narratives. There are two ways of telling stories- through spoken words or written on a page. In either case the audience envisions the scene of the story through their thoughts and experiences. Everyone brings a little of their own self to each story. Heidi is interested in envisioning a woman’s perspective and reaction to events. The work is often introspective and reflects pivotal changes she has seen in her world and how those changes are repeated in the lives of other young women. To her it is a record of learning to understand your role and purpose in this world. She has met many women whose experiences mirror her past and feels it is her responsibility to listen and reflect. Showing empathy opens the doors to authentic communication. While she is concerned with teaching, greater understanding comes when you understand who you are. Her interest lies in guiding one to see oneself.
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