Uncharted Waters means going where no map exists, journeying to places not yet explored. Contemporary artists—Heather Allen Hietala, Shireen Kamran, and Cheryl Wilson Smith have spent decades pursuing their own bold artistic journey—seeking expression for their own voices. In doing so, these three artists have discovered new ‘worlds’—inspired and provocative ways to create uniquely beautiful work. 

Heather Allen Hietala’s latest works were created as an homage to her beloved mother and father. The vessel shape is symbolic of the journey itself with inscriptions of text that speak to sweet memories, honouring her parents' lives and the mystery of their own journey into the unknown. 

Shireen Kamran’s paintings are inspired by her homeland in Pakistan—her memory of ‘people and places.’ It is a profound, emotional journey—a migrant’s story that finds its release in the act of painting—‘to other times and places.’

Cheryl Wilson Smith’s glass works are informed by the rugged beauty of the landscape surrounding her Northern Ontario home. She was surprised to discover the same wild terrain when visiting her ancestral village in Scotland. Destiny? Her journey continues

In folklore, ancient mariners believed that when they sailed into unknown regions of the world—‘Here Be Dragons.’ Only the brave sailed onward to explore what had never been encountered before. Hietala, Kamran and Wilson Smith have embraced that daring credo in their own art making—to navigate life’s ‘uncharted waters’ with vision and passion. The results are simply stunning.

“As a kid I used to help my father sail by plotting our course on charts. But I recognize that life itself can’t be mapped—it’s unpredictable. The inscriptions on my artwork offer advice for wherever you’re going but the journey itself still can’t be predicted.” Heather Allen Hietala