ARTIST BIO
Working out of Portsmouth, VA, Peelen currently teaches traditional and graphic arts at several local universities. She specializes in mixed media ranging from academic approaches to figure drawing to video projections and vignettes often combined with performances utilizing the created spaces. Peelen aspires to create art that can exist on and off the walls, some permanently and some more ephemeral or meant to exist at a specific moment in time.
CV:
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts in Digital Imagery, Completed in May 2014 Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York.
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing & Design, Completed in December 2011 Old Dominion University, Virginia.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE - UNIVERSITY
Adjunct Professor, Regent University, Spring 2015 to present
ANIM 100 Fundamentals of Animation
ANIM 103 Intro to Digital Art
ANIM 121 2D Design Methods
ANIM 122 3D Design Methods
ANIM 222 Storyboarding
ARTA 201Comparative Figure and Anatomy
ARTA 320 Painting 1
ARTA 120 Introduction to Drawing
ARTA 100 History of Art & Design 1
ARTA 105 History of Art & Design 2
GENE 100 Art and Culture
Course Developer for the following classes in initiation of new Bachelor of Fine Arts program for Graphic Arts concentration, Regent University, Fall 2017 to present
ARTA 401 Advanced Drawing
ARTA 201 Comparative Figure & Anatomy
ARTA 120 Introduction to Drawing
ARTA 100 History of Art & Design 1
ARTA 105 History of Art & Design 2
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University, Fall 2015 to Fall 2017
Fundamentals of Drawing
2D Design Methods
Non-Traditional Animation
TEACHING EXPERIENCE – NON-UNIVERSITY
Chief Executive Officer, Watershed Art House, Non-profit organization focused on ephemeral and conceptual-based art for 757 community outreach, Portsmouth and Norfolk VA, October 2017 to 2018.
Instructor, D’Art Center of Norfolk, VA, Fall 2016 Beginning Drawing
Art Teacher, Central Christian Academy, Portsmouth VA, September 2008 to June 2009 Art Education, First through Eighth grade art classes
ARTIST RESIDENCIES & MEMBERSHIPS
Appointed Commissioner for Portsmouth Museum & Fine Arts Commission, 2019 to 2023
Nominee for Hampton Roads Chamber Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2019
Nominee for Art & Society in Britain Seminar, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven CT, 2019
Glass Wheel Studio Artist Program awarded artist, 2016 & 2017
COMMISSIONS
Commissioned by Neat Bird of Chesapeake, VA to create large installation mural, Chesapeake VA, November 2022.
Commissioned by Downtown Norfolk Council of VA to participate as showcased artist for virtual live performance, April 2019.
Commissioned by Chrysler Glass Studio of Norfolk, VA to participate as showcased artist for Third Thursday programming, September 2018.
Commissioned by Crudo Nudo of Norfolk, VA to create original installation mural for interior walls, located at 21st Street, Norfolk VA, April 2018.
Commissioned by Fruitive Café of Norfolk, VA to wallpaper hand-drawn original mural to café interior walls, located at Colley Avenue, May 2017.
Commissioned by Push Comedy Theater of Norfolk, VA to paint murals on the interior and façade, located at 763 Granby Street, June 2015 and September 2016.
Commissioned by Glass Wheel Studio of Norfolk, VA to wheat paste an original digital print to building’s exterior, located at 158 W Olney Road, September 2016.
Commissioned by Virginia Diner of Wakefield, VA to draw illustrations for holiday brochures and roadside billboards, located at 408 County Drive, September 2012.
Commissioned by Williamsburg Winery of Williamsburg, VA to draw illustrations for Winemaker’s blends wine bottle labels, located at 5800 Wessex Hundred, November 2012.
SOLO & SMALL GROUP EXHIBITIONS
ArtWorksRVA Call to Artists exhibition, group juried show, Art Works RVA gallery, Richmond VA, July - September 2023.
Homegrown, Commune NFK, group juried show highlighting artists from the 757, second place winner, Norfolk VA August-October of 2021.
Blinkered Bourgeois by Heidi Peelen, solo performance as participant of juried art festival, outdoor event, Norfolk VA - postponed and later cancelled as result of COVID-19, Norfolk VA Summer/Fall 2020.
Quarantining in Suburban Purgatory, virtual solo performance as participant of juried virtual art series in partnership with NEON Arts District, Norfolk VA, April 2020.
House of Misfit Toys, curator and producer, Old Towne Arts & Music, Portsmouth VA, December 2019.
Heckle & Hide, solo performance as participant of juried art festival, NEON Arts District, Norfolk VA, October 2019.
The 5 Artist You Meet in Grad School, solo performance, Push Comedy Theater, Norfolk VA, July 2019.
Taking the Toll: Art for Artist’s Sake, curator and producer in partnership with Portsmouth Fine Arts Center, Portsmouth VA, Summer series from June - August 2019.
Double-Edged, Group Exhibition, MOCA at BOJU Gallery, Virginia Beach, VA, March 2019.
Leftovers: Invaluable Valuables, Group Exhibition, Analogue Lab & Studio, Norfolk VA, January 2019.
Suburban Satiation by Heidi Peelen: Third Thursdays at the Chrysler Glass Studio, Norfolk VA, September 2018.
Watershed Art House presents: Sensor Stimuli, Fakation All I Ever Wanted, Group Exhibition, curator and producer, Norfolk VA, May 2018.
Watershed Art House presents: This is How You Art, performed, curator and producer, Push Comedy Theater, Norfolk VA, March 2018.
Watershed Art House presents: Sympathy for the Man, curator and producer, Norfolk VA, January 2018.
Profound Idiosyncrasy: Social Commentary Art by Heidi Peelen & John Tobin, James Wise Gallery at Norfolk State University, August 2017 – October 2017.
Low-Key Starved: A Performative Art Show by Heidi Peelen, Push Comedy Theater, August 2017.
Trompe L’Oeil: Glass Wheel Studio Artists Exhibition, Glass Wheel Studio, August 2017.
Just Between Us, Glass Wheel Studio, June 2016.
NATIVE, Work Release, February 2016.
MFA Thesis Exhibition: Heidi Peelen, Pratt Institute Digital Department, February 2014.
RECOGNITIONS & PRESS
Invited Key Note Speaker for Scholastic Achievement Award Ceremony presented by Virginia Pilot, Norfolk VA, January 2020 - canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Producer and curator for Taking the Toll: Art for Artist’s Sake, artist lecture series with Portsmouth Fine Arts Center - proposed recurring event postponed for the summer session of 2020 due to COVID-19, original series began in Summer 2019 to be ongoing. https://portsmouthartcenter.com/event-calendar/
Nominee for Hampton Roads Chamber Entrepreneur of the Year Award, January 2019.
Featured article for Popscure, Norfolk, VA, September 2018. https://www.popscuremedia.com/blog/heidi-peelen
Featured article for WHURK Magazine, Richmond, VA, April 2018. http://whurk.org/62/watershed-art-house
Featured Artist for Third Thursdays at the Chrysler Glass Studio of Norfolk, VA, September 2018.
http://www.chrysler.org/glass-studio/third-thursday/
Featured Artist in Virginian Pilot of Norfolk, VA, May 2018. https://pilotonline.com/entertainment/arts/exhibits/heidipeelen
Friday Featured Artist for AltDaily of Norfolk, VA, November 2016 & August 2017.
https://altdaily.com/friday-featured-artist-heidi-peelen/
https://altdaily.com/low-key-multi-talented-heidi-peelen-spreads-her-art-across-norfolk/