Illustration

As Long as the Rivers Flow

On the final day of a month-long exhibit at Fort Frances’ Fineline Gallery in July of 2000, Heather’s work came to the attention of Vancouver authors Constance Brissenden and Larry Loyie. Their ensuing partnership produced the award-winning children's book, As Long as the Rivers Flow. Published by Groundwood Books in 2002, the story is a tender account of a First Nations family living in Northern Alberta in the 1940s, their traditions and culture, and the threat of residential school overshadowing their last summer. In 2003, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Constance, Larry & Heather were honoured with the prestigious 2003 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction. It is the 2006 Honour Book
Selection of the First Nation Communities Read program.

The Gathering Tree

In the summer of 2005, Heather once again partnered with Constance Brissenden and Larry Loyie, to illustrate The Gathering Tree. Published by Theytus Books, with Chee Mamuk, the Aboriginal HIV/STI education program of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the book is a gentle, positive story of a family facing the physical, spiritual & emotional affects of HIV. A First Nations setting of The Gathering Tree provides a unique cultural & spiritual quality to the story, and allowed Heather to visually compliment the characters, their traditions and natural environment with a palette of vibrant acrylic colour within the twenty-two full page illustrations. The Gathering Tree provides readers of all cultural backgrounds with HIV resource and educational material and is recommended for children ages nine and up.