Handcut Hodgepodge

Handcut Hodgepodge Artwork by Heather Stearns

THiS iS TeMPORaRY & WHAT iS eNOugHthe more this piece is handled, the more it falls apart, all the edges exposed and raw...
06/20/2026

THiS iS TeMPORaRY & WHAT iS eNOugH

the more this piece is handled, the more it falls apart, all the edges exposed and raw.

you can see/purchase this work at until July 18 for the ✨Expressive Fibers Exhibit✨

(the colors on the “what is enough” side do remind me of Burger King and it was certainly not intentional… but have it your way, or whatever)

Hi, friends! I spent the morning swapping out my works at ✨The centerpiece “Bicameral” (a collab between and I) is out...
06/02/2026

Hi, friends!

I spent the morning swapping out my works at ✨

The centerpiece “Bicameral” (a collab between and I) is out for your viewing pleasure, as well as some other little sweeties.

I have also left a cart full of collage supplies in the corner to play with while you’re visiting First Branch. If you’ve missed the community collage nights, now is your chance to contribute to the growing art wall!

(please follow the instructions provided on the cart if you want to join in the fun 🥰)

OH, and blessed Pride Month from this q***r to you 🌈

I have been absolutely blessed with the opportunity to share my artwork with you all over the last couple years at in F...
04/22/2026

I have been absolutely blessed with the opportunity to share my artwork with you all over the last couple years at in Fairlee, VT and it is time for me to pass the space onto the next artist.

All the wall space that my art has been will be available to you, except for the spot above the cork board near the counter.

👉 Here's the deal:

- This is a bright space with white walls and we would love something colorful and interesting (all mediums accepted)

- You are responsible to hang your own work (including labels), replace the work as it sells, and have your own payment method on display
**SUNNYSIDE TAKES 0% COMMISSION**

- The space can accommodate medium/large and small works, but nothing large/xl (please go to the shop and see the space to see if your pieces will fit).

**edited: submissions closed***

Please message me with questions!

IN THE MEANTIME! This is your chance to purchase any of my works that are currently on display. It would be so wonderful to not have to take everything home with me.

THANK YOU for this beautiful opportunity that has led me to so many connections. I am forever a fan.

Join us for another Community Collage night on Friday, April 17th from 5:30p to 7:30p!Collage materials will be provided...
03/29/2026

Join us for another Community Collage night on Friday, April 17th from 5:30p to 7:30p!

Collage materials will be provided for *FREE* so that you all can create your own piece to contribute to the growing community art wall at .

We'll be cooking up some classic Grandma (sheet pan) Pizza that you can purchase and enjoy while you're creating.

[fun fact: though this image is digital, I actually, and luckily, found this analog image of a sheet pan pizza in a 1994 Gourmet mag & scanned it for this post]

BYOB, if that's your thing.

Hope to see you there! 🍕

03/13/2026

Join us at the Bethel Arts Center on Saturday, March 28th from 1:30pm to 3:30pm for a series of workshops: Grief Processing Through Creativity.

This monthly peer support group, led by artist & grief educator Hettie Stearns, offers a compassionate space to explore grief through conversation and creative expression.

Together we’ll gently engage with different artistic approaches as tools for reflection and connection.

For March’s gathering, we will create hand-ripped collages, using images, textures, and words to express and process the many layers of grief.

All ages & all types of grief are welcome.

FREE (donations welcome)

It's Hodgepodge Day - five years since I began this account/adventure. I burned out hard in early 2021, and art was (and...
03/12/2026

It's Hodgepodge Day - five years since I began this account/adventure.

I burned out hard in early 2021, and art was (and continues to be) a lifeline, a light in so much darkness, a way of processing a spectrum of emotions.

It is really challenging being a human in this world; we are presented with so much illusion and are punished for questioning it.

From the beginning, this account was built on a statement against consumerism. Everything I make is rooted in the discarded, challenging conventional ideas of beauty, worth, and permanence. I believe that what has been cast aside can be rebuilt while keeping its history visible.

That being said, I've brought my collage attitude to fabric recently and here we are.

This piece might be called "Have It Your Way"... but would love to hear from you with what comes to mind (outside calling it "Temporary & Enough").

Thanks for being here with me. Sending love to you all.

xoxo

H

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oh, and that's a shirt 🔥

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IT HAS ARRIVED! 🎉Four of my collage poems are in Volume Eight of PoetryXCollage by AND MY WORK IS ON THE COVER! 🥰These ...
02/19/2026

IT HAS ARRIVED! 🎉

Four of my collage poems are in Volume Eight of PoetryXCollage by AND MY WORK IS ON THE COVER! 🥰

These two are my particular favorites, reading:

"I bent and drank the waves deeply
to put an end to the darkness
that plagued my heart
and finally yielded
to the impulses
of being human."

&

"fearing that we had
become isolated
from each other
I looked back
and reached
for you."

xoxo

New creations out of the Hodgepodge studio making their debut at for the 'Stitched Together' Exhibit 🥰Just like my coll...
02/14/2026

New creations out of the Hodgepodge studio making their debut at for the 'Stitched Together' Exhibit 🥰

Just like my collage work, these pieces are constructed with scrap materials & fabrics I've collected along the way (including clothing from different points in my life).

The little person in overalls at the top of the "I Feel All Over" piece came out of my childhood t-shirt collection... did anyone else participate in Odyssey of the Mind (OM)??

For some reason, I keep making house shapes, subconsciously honoring my personal house, my grandmother and great-grandmothers who came before, the women who loved creating with fabric.

Anyway, it's my first time showing work at Chandler so please go check it out. I'm really proud of my first ever "quilt", raw edges and all.

My works (on cabinet doors, of course) 'Jump' & 'Groundwork' are on display at The S.P.A.C.E Gallery in Burlington, VT f...
02/10/2026

My works (on cabinet doors, of course) 'Jump' & 'Groundwork' are on display at The S.P.A.C.E Gallery in Burlington, VT for a special collage exhibition: Held Together.

To me 'Jump' represents the tide coming in, the ground getting smaller and our decision to either jump or be eaten by the water.

'Groundwork' reminds me of mud season. Melting snow soddens dry earth, little growth starting.

Both of these pieces came out intuitively, with no plans of what they would be. Ripping & gluing until I felt a 🛑. Learning my own inner language.

REMINDER: Viewing and/or making art HELPS THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. It is so important to take care of yourself and find your feet on the ground as we navigate the horrific things happening in our system.

xoxo

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Here is the description for the show:

"Held Together invites viewers to look closely at imagery that may initially not seem to belong… until it does. These hand-made collages by 80 artists exist in fragments: small acts of care and patience, composed of pieces cut, arranged, and held in place.

For some artists, collage functions as a calming, grounding practice. Slow, repetitive, and attentive. For others, it operates as a disruptive gesture, interrupting dominant narratives and exposing seams rather than concealing them. The works in this exhibition move between these impulses.

Some soothe, others challenge; all ask us to pause and attend to acts of care. In a time that often demands speed and certainty, Held Together honors collage as a practice of presence and quiet labor. The exhibition reflects a shared human impulse to gather what remains and to consider how we hold ourselves, one another, and the world together, if only for a moment."

▫️Show: "Held Together"
▫️Location: - Burlington, VT
▫️Exhibit Dates: February 6 - March 20, 2026
▫️Gallery Hours: Thurs - Sat 12p - 5p

Hello my friends; new here or longtime ones. I’m (re)introducing myself.My name is Hettie Stearns. Some of you know me ...
02/03/2026

Hello my friends; new here or longtime ones. I’m (re)introducing myself.

My name is Hettie Stearns. Some of you know me as Heather, which is still very okay. I’ll continue using my parent-given name in art-world spaces, but Hettie is how I am moving through much of my life now.

For the past five years, I’ve been making art full-time. If you’ve been here, you know the hustle and the way your relationship to your work can quietly change. Somewhere along the way, I felt myself losing touch with my why.

In 2017, I had a near-death experience (organ failure from sepsis) that reshaped everything. It deepened my relationship with death & grief, and became fuel behind my creative life.

This feels like the next evolution. A sidequest that’s been calling for a while. Alongside my art practice, I’ve been studying grief—holding an End-of-Life Doula certification and, as of last week, completing my training as a Grief Educator.

Together with Megan David of The Soul Room [.place] in Montpelier, I have co-founded The Grief Space Vermont -- an organization rooted in the belief that grief isn’t something to fix or rush, but something to be witnessed, tended, and honored.

If this resonates, you’re welcome to follow along at . We’re in the process of securing spaces to host peer support groups from the Upper Valley up to Burlington, rooted from the heart of Vermont. Please reach out if you know of locations that may be of interest!

I’m still making art (and always will be) just with more alignment, more breath, and less capitalistic pressure.

Thanks for being here, in all the ways you show up. 💕

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Randolph, VT

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