Our Mission

Heidi O’Hanley was born and raised in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. She is the oldest out of three siblings, and recently married. Since she was a child, Heidi always knew she would be an artist. At age five, Heidi’s grandfather taught her the idea of perspective with drawings houses, and she would always sneak drawings any moment she could.

Heidi attended and received her undergraduate degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1997-2001. Her main focus was in the fiber arts, puppet animation, and sculpture. After graduating with her BFA, she worked for Textile Restoration restoring and preserving pre-Columbian fabrics, 16th century tapestries, and other items from museums and art collectors. After taking on interns, Heidi realized she wanted to teach.

In 2005, Heidi started her graduate program in art education at Columbia College Chicago. She helped in starting the school’s IAEA/NAEA student chapter, and became the first treasurer for the organization. Currently, Heidi is student teaching and plans to graduate in May 2007.

Heidi believes that art plays a strong connection to the schools curriculum. She strongly believes that through the visual arts, students can discover many ways of receiving information (either through integrated lessons or general art knowledge), using their imagination, understanding objectives, and working cooperatively with their peers. Besides the idea of bringing art to the classroom for instruction, the students also profit from the delight of the experience; that is, taking in the experience and reflecting upon the information instructed.