Heather Ormsbee

Heather has been working with educators and creative endeavors since teaching art at a summer camp in the first weeks after their high school graduation on Long Island in 1998. 

Then in the fall of 1998 they combined their love of animals and art to spend the next 25 years using shears as a pet groomer. Before earning the title of Nationally Certified Master Groomer through NDGAA they proved their expertise and passion as both a district trainer for a nationwide chain, and also in competitive grooming honing their skills with shears all over the continental US. They also spent 10 of those years as the owner operator and head groomer of a successful pet salon in King County. During all those years they continued to explore painting with acrylic. After some deep introspection, in 2019 they made the decision to close the business and move onto the next chapter of life focusing fully on Art. That began with attending Gage for a first class and immediately fell in love with the freedom of expression encouraged in that environment. That led to joining the KOH Atelier in the fall of 2019. They created a body of work, had a solo show at the Kirkland arts center in the middle of their third year, as well as participated in dozens of group shows. Then just a few weeks before graduation they took a temp job with Gage that harkened back to memories of that first job out of high school. That position grew into the full time Youth Programs Manager Position. Championing arts education for the youth in Washington state by helping, supporting, or running programs that strive to tear down barriers of systemic racism in our society. They are an active member in WAEA and Creative Advantage. 

Contact: ormsbee.h@gageacademy.org