BY ADAIR WILSON HEITMANN
It started in Stamford in the sixth grade. My art teacher fished out my linoleum block print I had tossed in the garbage and submitted it to a scholastic art competition. Seeing my work on display awakened my love of art. Fast forward to high school and taking the train into the Art Students League in New York City every Saturday, art college followed, then working in the design, marketing, and communications fields. Like the House of Medici the 14th-century banking family that created an environment where arts flourished, Fairfield County”™s business community has been my patron of the arts. As a result, I”™ve supported myself through my creativity.
- Adair Wilson Heitmann
C.R. Gibson gave me my first job as a designer in Norwalk. My boss was a mentor. He saw the transferrable skills I had and taught me how to apply fine art dexterity to the graphic design world. I”™ve since traversed the worlds of fine and commercial art. Fairfield County has offered me an array of opportunities to expand my work in corporate, creative and academic environments. It has also been fertile ground for me to launch three entrepreneurial businesses.
I”™ve always viewed my fine art as a business, which is an important piece of the mosaic of life as an artist. The ways I market myself and my work, and the ways I conduct the commerce side of my trade are just as important as the creative applications. Starting my own graphic design firm was made possible by independent companies willing to give opportunities to local designers. The open-mindedness of Fairfield County then helped me start my next business, The Center for Creativity and Wellness. Once my son was born I closed it on a high note and pursued writing and consulting. These adventures have led me here, to the nonprofit world as the director of communications for Pequot Library.
As an artist I”™ve received grants, awards and exhibited original prints, photographs and paintings in galleries and museums. The joy of seeing my work on display has never left me and neither have the lessons I”™ve been taught from the people and businesses of Fairfield County.
Thank you to all the Medicis of Fairfield County. As the community uplifts the artists, the artists, in turn, uplift the community and each other.
Adair Wilson Heitmann is an artist and member of the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County.
