By Heidi Lanino
The Creative Process' mission to celebrate the transformative power of the arts deeply resonates with my practice. As an artist, I strive to explore the boundaries between the real and the imagined, the visible and the hidden, fostering introspection and a connection to shared human experiences.
The arts and humanities are vital for cultivating empathy and understanding in a world that often feels fragmented. Through my work—whether it’s the fluidity and abstraction of the “Folded Female” series, community art projects, or teaching—I aim to create spaces where people can engage with universal themes such as identity, transformation, and connection. The arts provide a unique lens through which we can question, reflect, and celebrate our shared humanity.
Your interdisciplinary approach aligns with my belief in the fluid nature of creativity. The intersection of arts, sciences, and environmental awareness is an area I find particularly compelling. Exploring the relationship between art and sustainability, or the impact of creative expression on mental and emotional well-being, could further enrich the dialogue around the human experience. These connections could inspire new ways to address critical challenges while uplifting and engaging diverse communities.
Thank you for championing this important work. It’s inspiring to see an initiative that values and amplifies the role of the arts in shaping a more inclusive and thoughtful world.
What was the inspiration for your creative work?
My creative work is intuitively conceived, beginning with paper and evolving through materials such as wood, clay, and metal. Central to my process is the transformative act of folding, which becomes a metaphor for the cyclical nature of the human experience. Through folding and unfolding, my sculptures emerge as portraits of the female form, embodying a profound duality of strength and vulnerability while exploring themes of sensuality, societal ideals of beauty, and self-reflection.
The female form serves as a vessel, a vehicle, and a mirror of contemporary experiences, revealing how we continuously evolve and adapt. I am drawn to the cyclical process of renewal, using and reusing materials to bend, reflect, and reconstruct into new compositions. By depicting the female figure as a vessel—drawn, cut, folded, unfolded, and reassembled—I seek to uncover a universal portrait of the female experience, where beauty resides in both fragility and resilience.
I am particularly drawn to malleable materials that allow me to blend physicality with emotional depth. The act of folding creates an imagined emotional space inspired by the body in motion—its sensuality, transformation over time, and the inherent vulnerability of the unknown. This process gives voice to intimate narratives, illustrating how individuals reconcile their internal experiences with the external world.
As I navigate between drawing, painting, folding, and constructing, I explore the revelations that arise from negative space and the stories revealed through each turn of the figure. Working in repetition and sequence allows me to create rhythm and visual metaphors, emphasizing themes of transition, transformation, and chance. Each piece becomes a testament to the enduring process of mending, renewal, and self-discovery.
