Heather Fountain first came to Maine Art Hill in June of 2022 as a pop-up artist. Fountain has been an artist for as long as she can remember. She even remembers being five or six years old and finding a piece of scrap sheet rock at a construction site next to her aunt's house.
"I sat on the edge of the woods and drew a lady slipper. Whatever was around me became the medium I used," shares Fountain. "Later, I taught art, so I am proficient in many media, and if I don't know how to use one, I want to learn."
Growing up between Maine and Massachusetts, Fountain spent the summers with her grandparents in Ocean Park and on a lake in the woods in Acton, Maine. They would walk in the woods and collect all the beautiful things around them.
"I was always astounded by the beauty of nature around us. I currently live right on the ocean in Ocean Park, Maine. I'm always watching the sky, the sand, and the reflections in the water," she says. "I often feel like I see things others don't notice, whether a gradation of color in the sky during different times of day or a frost pattern on a window."
While teaching at an elementary school in Massachusetts, Fountain worked with glass in the 90s at Worcester Center for Crafts. They had a Glass Survey class where she explored four types of glasswork, which helped her decide to move toward kiln-formed glasswork. There are three categories of glass: hot, warm, and cold. Stained glass would be considered cold glass, where the glass typically does not get heated. Warm glass is glasswork usually put in the kiln, which is what Fountain does. Then there's hot glass, such as glass blowing, where molten glass from a furnace is used to create.
"Glass is tough to get a chance to practice because most places do not offer glass; it is expensive, and the craft of art glass, as a medium, is relatively young in our country. This survey class allowed me to experience many forms of glass taught by experts in the field who specialized in different areas, from glass blowing to kiln-formed glass and scientific equipment to lampworking with a torch. I quickly realized that making a bead after an hour of lampworking was not my thing."
In glass blowing, an artist usually practices for about ten years before becoming a master blower. It's not something that can be done alone. A furnace is necessary and is not accessible at home. So, Fountain ended up moving toward kiln-formed glass. She currently uses three different kilns in her studio space here in Maine.
"About a year ago, I moved into my own design studio in Ocean Park, Maine. It's right at home, so I have one floor of the house as my studio with the kiln room, a wet working room, and a large open studio space," Fountain explains. "Here, I have everything in one place. It is such a joy as I look right out my windows to the ocean and see the dunes and the sky. It brings different inspirations every day, and having a studio at home is extremely convenient. Some processes take many days in the kiln, allowing me to go downstairs and take a look even in the evening or at night."
Like all things, artists work and create with purpose. When I asked Fountain what the purpose of her art is, the answer made me smile.
"The purpose of art? Sometimes, I get asked at a show, 'What is the purpose of this vessel?'" She laughs. "What's the purpose of the painting? It's the same. A piece of art is meant to be enjoyed or to remind you sometimes of a place, a time, or a person. The glass vessels change at different times of the day depending on the light shining through them. They make beautiful colors and shadows below them. They are meant to bring a moment or an element of joy and beauty into your space…and we need more."