Features
AND ARTS LAUGHS
Heather MacINNES Travis’97 is spreading joy through her bright and bold creations By Amy Verner Photo by Jeff Kirk
S
ince early this year, Heather Travis has been hosting a Saturday morning art class through Instagram Live that is as entertaining as it is instructional. For a recent session, she dedicated the 30 minutes to drawing a colourfully striped fish to which she added a crowd-pleasing surprise. Thanks to a folding paper trick, Wanda the Fish revealed a wavy red tongue and bubbles rising from its other end. “I’m going to be real cheeky; this is my 10-year-old boy coming out, y’all,” Heather warned those following. “We have got some fish farts happening here.” What might be dismissed as puerile coming from someone else felt lively and lighthearted from Heather, who works out of a spacious loft above her garage in Tara, Ont., where she lives with her husband and their dog, Eddie Vedder. “We’re not making masterpieces; we’re making shitty art because there’s joy in that, too,” she continued. Hence the name of her series: #ShartwithHeather. Heather, who began painting in a profes-
20
The READ Spring 2021
sional manner roughly six years ago, is the antithesis of an introverted, solitary artist. Rather, she exudes infectious enthusiasm and enjoys an audience. Visit her website and you’re unlikely to find flatulent fish. But her images of canvases covered in giant confetti, swirling figurative landscapes, and a whole lot of pink speak to a style that is positively Pop (emphasis on the positive). Describing her approach as intuitive, Heather recalls classes with Heather Pratt at Branksome and wonders out loud whether the sturdy portfolio she has kept all this time remains the property of the art department. Back then, however, she never imagined that art could become a career or, at least, something she could do and take seriously. After seven years at Branksome, Heather attended Queen’s University and studied sociology, unsure where this would lead. Subsequently, a course at Seneca College introduced her to the world of public relations, sales and marketing and this is where she landed
for many years; she held positions at Cérvelo Cycles, then at Canada Beef. “I’m a total foodie and a more traditional PR opportunity with beef was cool,” she says. She joined an agency in Guelph—“I was their city girl who could speak agriculture”—only to go freelance six years ago. Today, she continues to develop her client roster and expertise and says, expressing relief and gratitude, that she has been at full capacity throughout the pandemic.
A
rt, meanwhile, had been shifting from a hobby to a practice with real potential. A number of years ago, simultaneously with her work, Heather had launched a lifestyle blog. She mentions it with some sheepishness—as though having one pegged her as a certain type of person—but it was this outlet that allowed her to explore and embrace her creative side. She would post about her DIY home improvements—whether painting, refinishing or recovering furniture—and found
