Erase the lines: I pray you not to love classifications.
The thing is like a river, from source to sea-mouth one flowing life.
    - Robinson Jeffers, Monument

Since childhood, my life and art have been nourished and inspired by time in wild places, by cycles larger than the concerns of man. The deep silence and deep peace of wild places, and yes even the great struggle to cling to life, the precious gift of life, are at the center of my work. I try to express reverence for the mystery and beauty of wild places. I try, I paint over and over, in an effort to honor the places I love and the sense of freedom I’ve found there.

Robinson Jeffers’ words “one flowing life” capture my imagination. I think I know what he means. In my art, I try to flow, to capture the essence and spirit of that great flowing life, of struggle and silence and peace. I try to express the spirit and essence rather than the details which often distract. Even the river, from source to sea-mouth, has a life. Capturing that in painting is the center of my creative life.

- Roderick MacIver, Artist and Founder of Heron Dance Art Studio

Partial List of Credits:

Books:

• Gifts from the Mountain: Simple Truths for Life’s Complexities by Eileen McDargh. Published by Barrett-Koehler.
• Kristin’s Wilderness by Garrett Conover. Published by Raven Words.
• Wilderness Management: Stewardship and Protection of Resources and Values Third Edition. By John C. Hendee and Chad P. Dawson. Published by Fulcrum Publishing.
• North Atlantic Books has republished many Heron Dance titles, all containing the writing and nature art of Roderick MacIver, including Thoreau and the Art of Life, Art as a Way of Life, The Heron Dance Book of Love & Gratitude, Earth My Likeness, and The Laws of Nature. These books can be viewed on Amazon by clicking here.

Magazines, Calendars and Catalogs:

• Bioneers Conference Catalog
• Earthlight
• Earth Island Journal
• EverChanging
• Fish & Fly
• Friends Journal
• Ministry of the Arts
• Nastagan, The Journal of the Wilderness Canoe Association
• One Spirit Catalog
• Pomegranate 2008 Calendar
• Progressive Christian
• ROWE Conference Center
• Spirit and Nature
• Timberlake Farm
• Wild Earth
• Wooden Canoe
• Zen Mountain Monastery

Wilderness Protection Groups:

• Ministry of the Arts
• Northeast Wilderness Trust
• RESTORE: The North Woods
• Raincoast Conservation Society
• Sky Island Alliance
• The Wild Foundation

For a more complete list of the nonprofits Heron Dance has supported with the donation of art and images, visit here.

Collections:

• Numerous private collections
• Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, Oregon

Heron Dance donates thousands of notecards to wilderness protection groups each year for their correspondence. We also have donated signed, limited-edition prints and the use of our art to these groups. More information can be found by visiting here.

Visit here to read Rod’s Autobiographical Notes.