JULY 2023 ARTIST OF THE MONTH
Heidi Brewer-Peters
A self-proclaimed curious creator, Heidi finds it difficult to put a finger on what exactly she does. “Today it’s one thing, tomorrow it’s another.”
Heidi Brewer-Peters is a lot like other Guemes Islanders. She likes to journal, walk through Dog Woods, visit museums, and craft with friends. The difference comes with what results from these activities. Personally, I would go out and buy a journal, but Heidi actually makes them and then fills her personal journals with watercolor paintings. Her recent visit to the quilt museum in La Conner has her thinking she may want to haul out the sewing machine and have a go at creating fabric journal covers.
When does exercise become art? When your name is Heidi Brewer-Peters, it’s when you’re out walking in Dog Woods. Art is in her thoughts, and she finds herself thinking “What can I draw – the Swainson’s Thrush I hear but never see?” Additionally, she tries to capture the images from her dreams because “they are so vivid. Life is art.”
A self-proclaimed curious creator, Heidi finds it difficult to put a finger on what exactly she does. “Today it’s one thing, tomorrow it’s another.” Along with painting, she likes to do collage work. She loves creating beaded “pictures”, but those require a lot of time, sometimes months, to complete. She purchased an antique loom years ago and made rugs with Pendleton wool selvages. Once her large stash of wool is used up, she plans on selling the loom to make way for wood projects…unless something else comes along.
Walking the dog and searching for agates occupy her time when she’s not creating art. She’s an adventurous artist and likes to keep herself engaged. To keep ideas flowing and to learn new things, she has, for the last two years, participated in the Sketchbook Revival, which is an online workshop that helps a person feel inspired, energized, and revived. She’s also enjoyed taking Loalynda’s Luminary class on the island.
Before coming to Guemes she and her husband lived on a boat for 17 years in Seattle. They took a lot of time off from their jobs to sail to Alaska, northern British Columbia, and the west coast of Vancouver Island. “We sold our live-aboard boat and are down to 3 boats now – a kayak, an aluminum crabbing dinghy, and a canoe (oh and a 12’ project wooden sailboat – so make that 4).” They intended to build a cabin on their property at Echo Lake in Montana but after many years of the long drive and putting up with bugs and bears they decided to look closer to home. It took them eight years to find the perfect spot on the island to build their dream and “we couldn’t be happier.”
Although she participates in the Annual Bird Invitational at Smith & Vallee in Edison, selling her art is something new for her because “I mainly create to be creative and to learn new things.” Fear not, Guemes Islanders, she will participate in the 2023 Winter Studio Tour and will feature her journals and woven Pendleton rugs, so we’ll have access to her unique creations the first weekend in December 2023. In the meantime, we hope to see her on the beach, up the mountain, or in the woods!
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