FEATURED ARTIST

Artist SPOTLIGHT

HEATHER PURSLEY

Local artists invigorate the community with thoughtful, creative pieces. Each issue, Starved Rock Country Magazine and Starved Rock Country Community Foundation are partnering to highlight artists and their work.

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f you pay attention to social media or the news, chances are you’ve heard of Wordle. The internet game, in which you have six chances to guess a five-letter word, took off in popularity this year. So did Heather Pursley’s Wordle-inspired amigurumi, or crocheted doll.

“I’ve been creating pop-culture-inspired amigurumi patterns for years, and some of them have been more popular than others. It’s getting more and more challenging to be the first to create something in the cultural zeitgeist, especially an amigurumi,” the Starved Rock Country artist notes.

She created what she calls a “silly little anthropomorphized Wordle buddy” and shared the pattern on her online crochet account, Ravelry. “My design has been shared on multiple major news and entertainment websites and more across the globe. It was so heartwarming to hear from other crocheters sharing the stories behind why they made their own and who they were gifting it to,” Pursley says. “Being able to create and share something that brought so much joy to so many people, however silly it is, is really where I want to be as an artist/maker.”

Pursley is the owner and artist behind Post and Prairie Design Studio and Ham and Eggs. Post and Prairie Design Studio specializes in commercial graphic design, producing everything from social media to web design and more. Ham and Eggs is where Pursley posts her crochet patterns, which she has been designing since 2009.

“I create work in a variety of mediums, from amigurumi (crocheted dolls), fine art prints, linotype, photography, and, honestly, whatever medium I’m interested in pursuing at that particular time,” she says.

Pursley originally planned to be a photography professor, but her career pivoted to graphic design, where she has been for nearly 20 years. Her more traditional artwork can be found at Open Space Art Gallery & Studios.

“Whether we’re the ones making it or the ones viewing it, art feeds our souls and enriches our lives,” she says.

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DETAILS OF HEATHER PURSLEY’S WORK

To purchase or learn more about her creations, visit www.postandprairie.com or her social media pages (Ham and Eggs Crochet, Post and Prairie Design Studio). 1. Wordle: amigurumi mixed media, 5x4, pattern listed for free through artist’s Ravelry account: www.ravelry.com/stores/ham-and-eggs-crochet 2. Witch’s Ball: glass, 5.5x5, not for sale 3. Hosta: photography, 8x8, $150, available by contacting the artist directly 4. Ice Falls: art print, 18x24, $275, available by contacting the artist directly

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Heather Pursley is a graphic designer who also experiments with fine art, photography, glass, crocheted dolls and more. “I am happy to go where creative inspiration leads me,” she summarizes. Learn more at www.postandprairie.com or on Facebook at Ham and Eggs Crochet.

Most have a tendency to hunker down and stay inside when the deepest part of winter arrives. For those who do dare to wander out in Starved Rock Country and embrace the cold, there is so much waiting to be seen. As the early setting sun begins to turn out its light, an icicle forms on a barn just south of Starved Rock State Park. Photo by Tom Sistak

Starved Rock Country Postcard

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