artist statement
My work explores the human form as a landscape of both the familiar and the abstract. I am captivated by the curves and lines of the body, utilizing them to navigate the tension between the anatomical precision of realism and the gestural freedom of expressionism. By translating these figures into metal and stone, I engage with the unique demands of each medium: the deliberate, reductive discipline of stone and the additive, fluid versatility of metal. My practice is fundamentally experimental, seeking to transform the recognizable into the unfamiliar. While my sculptures often address complex themes, such as identity, image, and social roles, they remain rooted in a sense of play and imagination, inviting the viewer to find beauty in our ever-changing state of being
artist bio
Heather McNabb was raised in Nome, Alaska. After moving to and living in Fairbanks for a few years, she decided she had enough of -45 degree winters and angry moose, so down south she went. She’s currently living in Grand Junction, Colorado and is working toward her B.F.A in Studio Arts with her emphasis in sculpture at Colorado Mesa University. She quickly discovered that metal casting was her passion. The heat, the flowing metal, the fire drew her in like a moth to a flame. Every time there was an opportunity to involve herself in metal pouring, she was there and eventually became part of the crew running the cupola. With her casting team, Heather attended the 2025 SLOSS Furnaces National Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art and Practices. While there, she and her team participated in the Student Cupola contest, competing against 10 other universities from the Midwest and the eastern states. They won first place in both the production and flow tests.
While attending the university, Heather ventures into the Rocky Mountains in the summer to cosplay Michaelangelo while studying stone carving at the Marble, Colorado marble symposium. She has exhibited her work in student art shows, most recently her Senior Exhibition art show “Humanity Creating Reality”. She has had artwork grace the cover of the CMU Literary Review magazine, and earned a spot in the Grand Junction, Colorado annual Art on the Corner program. Her larger-than-life sculpture of a feather quill pen will be on public display for a year (2025-26), so you’ll be able to view this piece while walking off the meal you enjoyed at one of the Main Street restaurants.