I first learned about Andy Warhol in the 1980’s when I was a kid watching “The Love Boat”. This series is an ode Warhol and to the celebrities who inspired me when I was growing up and obsessed with pop culture.

12” x 12” oil on canvas

Enjoy the holiday season with these hand made ornaments from the Pop Art series! They are $7 each/ 2 for $10. Shipping not included.

These hand made ornaments are from pet portraits I’ve done. $7 each or $10 for 2. Shipping not included.

Oil paintings of pets. Sizes range from 5”x7” and up. My goal is always to capture their unique personalities. Prices begin at $60 for small works plus shipping and handling. If you are interested, email me at heidibgt@mail.com and we can go from there!

Greeting cards and postcards!

Greeting cards are 6” x 4” and $3. Postcards are 7” x 5” and also $3. Please email me for shipping costs.

https://www.redbubble.com/people/hguibord/shop?asc=u is also where you can buy the designs on t-shirts, clocks, water bottles and other fine products

In 1996, the Navy base in Alameda was shut down. Within it’s total 1,500 acres of land lies what was called “North Housing”, a residential area of 37 acres built in 1969. Abandoned for nearly 20 years, North Housing is now transitioning to “Admiral’s Cove”, a multi-use area. Much of what was built there is currently being demolished. I spent a year walking around this area, collecting images I am now painting from. I am also seeking out people to interview who lived there to create a final series that will encompass quotes from former residents and current teenagers who used the base as a hang out spot.

When I speak to both groups, there is a sense of belonging to a space and a time that no longer will exist. It is in documenting these stories that there also arises issues such as the shifting populations in Alameda, the housing crisis and the different perceptions of how Alameda has changed. There is also a sense of grief as people have share their stories. Is it the power of memory? Or the memory of having power?  

Landscape paintings around my town

My favorite activity since I was a kid is to go draw and paint outside. In between various projects, I always return to this as a way to center myself. I am interested in how lines and shapes intersect in nature.

I was inspired by a set of gnarled trees near my house. They grow despite brackish water and strong winds and inspired me with their tenacity. 

I began creating these prints while trying to conceive my first child, with visions of becoming rounder and my hopes for being a good mom. The works began with a layers of ink. Soon after I finished the first run-through on the press, my partner and I received the wonderful news that we would be parents.

 During the pregnancy, I worked on the second layer of the works, layering colored pencils and pastels on top of the first layer. I added the third and final layer, consisting of gold leaf, a few months after I gave birth.

 My work reflects the evolving intricacies of trying to start a family, becoming pregnant and finally being a mother. Over time, my visualizations on becoming a mother gradually became more complex, as simple shapes became more defined and detailed. My life slowed down as I became aware of monitoring fertility, prenatal appointments and watching for baby milestones.

 I saw the contrast between this growing organic life and the structured punctuation of monitoring (myself, my baby, these changes) on an organized, regimented calendar. Each new benchmark feels amazing and awkward, with no real knowledge of how it will feel even a week after. 

 I was inspired by images of follicles, ultrasounds, heart rate and contraction graphs, calendars and growth charts. I layered saturated colors to express the intensity of the emotions I felt during this process. Gold leaf I had been carrying around for 15 years, some of it chemically changed due to aging, represents life growing, as it is both very precious and vulnerable with it’s fragility, yet visually strong and resilient. 

When I was 7, I asked my mom if we were “WASPS”. I had heard the term around and wondered if we were part of that group. She replied, “No, that’s actually a bad thing to say.” This moment stayed with me for years as I began to investigate what it means for me to be white. 

WASP stands for “White Anglo Saxon Protesdant”, of which I am definitely a part of. As a group of adjectives, it makes sense to me and describes part of my cultural heritage as well as the religion I was brought up in. However, there is also the idea that being a WASP means being of a certain socio-economic class with ties to being from the Northeast United States. I started thinking about whiteness and it’s affect on my life in terms of not only cultural values, but also the idea of class. I also started relating the insect the wasp to the cultural idea of being a “WASP”. What if these wasps developed “WASP” like tendencies? What would they say?

I asked friends and family about “waspisms”, phrases that “WASPS” stereotypically use. I pictured thousands of buzzing wasps, flying around at a frantic pace between junior league meetings and pilates classes while drinking skinny mochas. I then created lino cut prints of wasps, used found paper and fabric that had a “WASPy” look and combined the images with the text.

 

I spent sometime looking back at older pictures and noticed how expressive my knees were, how they represented how I felt at the time and place when the photo was taken. 

2007

oil on canvas

I’m French Canadian,but I don’t
Eat croissants and drink café au lait
Wear flannel shirts and go hunting
Eat maple syrup
End each sentence with  “eh?”
Speak French all that well
Wear berets

 I’m German, but I don’t
Clog dance
Drink in beer halls
Wear lederhosen
Play in a oom pa band
Speak German all that well
Eat Bratwurst

I’m Norwegian, but I don’t
Wear a Viking helmet
Call myself Olga
Eat herring, sardines or other canned fish
Ice skate or bobsled
Speak Norwegian at all
Go vacationing in the fjords

Through creating this work, I have realized that there are things that tie me to my cultural heritage; colors, objects, trinkets, food, words and designs that are based on various European ideas. I reclaim what my heritage has passed down through household objects. I have been subconsciously been exposed to Norwegian, German and French Canadian designs through trinkets and materials all my life but taken it for granted.