Limitless Project: Patricia Hecker

I love that Patricia's chosen medium, stained glass, has so much interplay with light.  It is interesting to me that her chosen art form is literally about letting in the light.  

Below Patricia shares her story of discovering that receiving validation from others was a block to her creative flow.  In Patricia's case, validation for a job well done ignited her fear of failure, a fear of letting people down.  The opposite happens even more often - you pour your heart into something and no one notices, no validation comes.  When this happens, if the creator was basing the value of their work on whether other people value it, they feel stunted, limited.  Patricia's story shows us that validation can be a block to the limitlessness of our creativity whether we receive it or not.  Becoming enlightened to this tendency in ourselves can free us from the desire for validation, releasing us back into the limitlessness out of which creativity springs.  This seems like what happened to Patricia when she let the light in!                        

-Shannon Leigh

Hometown Pride: The colors used in this piece are the high school colors of Fremont Ross and here the glass comes together marks the town of Fremont. Fremont is not where I grew up but this area is beginning to feel more and more like home. It's where I landed my first yoga teaching position and its currently where I sell my art.

I had never considered myself a creative person until this year, actually two months ago to be precise. In May I took a leap and showed off my stained glass work for a chance to be part of an artists’ co-op. It was the first time I had considered that possibility that someone would want my creations in their home and on top of that they would value the time and energy I placed into the piece enough to be willing to give me their hard earned dollars for it. In June we [the artists’ co-op: Buckland Arts] opened. I was nervous and intimidated, but some pieces have sold and others have not yet (or may never will) and all are okay. I have been encouraged and am embracing stepping out of my comfort zone and am willing to create whenever and whatever speaks to me- and somethings that don’t.

Amethyst Cluster Bookends- The only Disney princess I ever wanted to be was Belle and solely to be surrounded by books. I have books in every single room. I wanted to add a little flare to my books and decided what better way then to create a my own personal bookends inspired by amethyst crystal clusters.

I have dabbled in all sorts of expressions of creativity ranging from the written word, pencil portrait sketches, cartoons, papier-mâché, forged metalwork, stained glass. These have changed with age and what materials have been available to me. The younger me would dabble in whatever media up until someone gave me “good” feedback “that’s beautiful”, “you should do more”, “can you make one for me?” etc. and for whatever reason I would stop and give it up. Maybe because I thought I could never amount to the quality others thought I was capable of and thus effectively gave up on myself in some traverse idea that I would not be letting them down. I still limit myself and struggle with identifying as an artist or a creator.  I think “oh I could never make something that beautiful” or “I’m not talented”.  I’m realizing that my fear of failure and my fear of exposure has limited me from not only from self-expression but also from my own growth. 

Origami TRex- Not only is my home full of books. It's garnished with an array of plants. If i can't be outside all the time, I'll bring the plants in to me. But my plants seemed lonely which thus resulted in the creation of my plant buddy stakes like this origami inspired T-Rex

Looking back, creating has always allowed me to be fully enthralled in the present moment. Creating (without my knowing) was my first meditation. When life felt chaotic and confusing, the act of creating silenced the external world and allowed me to explore my own internal world thru a visual and physical medium. The truth is that if what you do connects to the expression of your soul- it’s art. If what you do doesn’t feel like it connects with your soul but it connects with someone elses’- it’s art. We may limit our expressions or our willingness to create, but when we create we experience and can share the ability to be limitless.

Sunrise Monolith- Some people awe to catch the sunset. I am a sunrise person. Being around Lake Erie inspired this "sand below, sun above, water as far as the eye can see in between" monolith.

Monday
6:00 - 7:00 AM Yoga Flow - Sandusky
10:30 - 11:45 AM Gentle Yoga - Norwalk
Thursday
6:00 - 7:15 PM Gentle Yoga - Sandusky

Water Life- There's something about cattails and dragonflies that reminds me of family. Maybe it was all those childhood memories of the 4 of us fishing, kayaking, or walking in creek beds but one day I was reminiscing and day dreaming and this piece came to be.