Heather Mourer’s work as an abstract ceramic artist is influenced by her former career as a ballet and modern dancer, the physical damages it caused, and the repair of those damages. Her earliest encounters with art galleries were as a performance artist; DIA gallery in New York and Pirate Contemporary Art Gallery in Denver were stages for her modern dance productions. Intense study of dance taught her elements of art such as line, shape, and form, but also caused nerve damage, chronic back pain and an emergency spinal fusion surgery. Her work in ceramics is an expression of the joy and pain of movement and the associated damage to and repair of her body. Her latest body of work is built with slabs of clay patch-worked together, cut apart into many pieces, and then stitched back together as a meditation and celebration of healing.
With a degree from Parsons School of Design in New York and experience as a faculty member of the former Art Institute of Colorado, Mourer has mentored youth experiencing poverty by teaching ballet and assisting elementary through high school students with developing art portfolios for successful applications into art-centered high schools and colleges. She has served on committees for several events supporting the Denver Art Museum and has shown and sold her ceramic art across the country.
Heather Mourer
b. 1967
Nashville, TN
Education
Anderson Ranch Arts Center
Snowmass, Colorado
Three-year Advanced Mentorship program
2026, 2027, 2028
Mentor: Shoji Satake (Professor at Rhode Island School of Design, President NCECA)
Art Students League
Denver, CO
Ceramics, oil painting, figurative painting
2019-present
Parsons School of Design
New York, NY
Notable Alumni, AAS
Interior Architectural Design
1999
University of Colorado
Denver, CO
MA with distinction
Curriculum & Instruction
1995
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO
BA with honors
English Literature
1991
Teaching Experience
Art Institute of Colorado
Denver, CO
Faculty, Studio Classes
2001-2004
Talks and Presentations
Presenter, “Living Anthropology” Clay in Performance
NCECA (Nat’l Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts)
Baltimore Convention Center
Coming March 2027
Artist Talk
Opening event for ARTSWEEK
The Eddy, Golden, CO
June 2025
Artist Talk
TOWN Galerie
Denver, Colorado
August 2023
Honors and Awards
Selected for Three-year Advanced Mentorship program
Anderson Ranch Arts Center
Prof. Shoji Satake (Rhode Island School of Design)
Snowmass, Colorado
2026, 2027, 2028
Bronze Award
IDA (International Design Awards)
2016
Community Involvement
Luncheon by Design, event committee
Denver Art Museum
2024-2026
Judge for 7th Congressional District Art Competition
Red Rocks College, Lakewood, CO
2024
Mentor for underprivileged youth
Assisted with art portfolios for successful acceptance to Denver School of the Arts, colleges, employment
2001-2024
Design Council Board member
Denver Art Museum
2007-2009
Design After Dark, event committee
Denver Art Museum
2008
Publications
Sasse Museum of Art, Tree Stories
Available on Amazon
2024
Exhibitions and Galleries
The Drawing Room on Tejon
Solo Show
Denver, CO
Coming soon
Center for the Arts, Member’s Show
Evergreen, CO
2026
Opening for ARTSWEEK
Solo Show and Talk
Golden, CO
2025
Foothills Art Center, Juried Member’s Show
Golden, CO
2025
Sasse Museum of Art, Tree Stories
Pomona, CA
2024
Kellogg Gallery, Ink & Clay, Juried Show
Pomona, CA
2024
LAB Gallery, Denver, The Space Between Juried Show
Denver, CO
2024
DonLo Gallery
Breckenridge,CO
2024
BRDG Gallery, True West Juried Show
Denver, CO
2024
Galerie TOWN
Scottsdale, AZ
2024-2026
Urban Mud Gallery, Multiple Exhibitions
Denver, CO
2020-2024
IMA Gallery
Boulder,CO
2022-2024
Spark Gallery, Small Works Exhibition
Denver, CO
2023
Pirate Contemporary Art Gallery, Group Exhibition
Denver, CO
2023