Heather Sarin believes everyone has inherent drive towards creativity. She has carried this conviction throughout her years teaching art, encouraging students to embrace the freedom to create unrestricted by imposed ideas. This freedom has also been essential to her journey, which has involved studying textiles and fine arts, along with extensive travel.

Paying close attention to her surroundings provides a starting point for creating, and her practice encompasses both purely abstract and figurative work in mixed media. Her work often features animals, and is handled with a fluidity that mirrors the dynamics of ever-changing nature.

Sarin is an artist based in Whakatere Ashburton who derives inspiration from natural rhythms. Fundamentally, her work can be seen as her way to honour and commune with the precious environment that surrounds us.

Image: Heathe Sarin, Our Connection to the Natural World, 2026, mixed media on recycled cotton. Image courtesy of the artist.