In addition to teaching art, Christina Heiniger is a well-known artist in the Down East Maine area. Her intention is to use art to create happiness and make the world more beautiful. Born in Switzerland and raised in Coastal Maine, she now lives and maintains a studio in Lamoine Maine, between Ellsworth and Bar Harbor/ Acadia National Park.

Christina uses a delightfully unusual blend of influences in her artwork. She studied painting and printmaking as a studio art major at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Her bold, cheerful and uplifting use of color is inspired in part by European painters such as Henri Matisse and Johannes Itten, in part by the bright and fearless use of color in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and in part from her lifelong fascination with all the hues in her paintbox. Similar in spirit to the work of Paul Klee (also Swiss-born artist), Christina’s art is based in a playful and inventive use of materials and design.

Christina’s artwork bears her own highly unique and distinctive hand. Circles and dots lightheartedly adorn many of her sculptures and paintings. Never limiting her artwork, Christina explores many subjects, themes and materials...while always creating work based in strong design, saturated color and a graceful deftness with the materials and tools of her trade.

Among her many endeavors involving the arts, Christina taught art for many years to 500 K-5 students in the Ellsworth Public School System and at The Asa C. Adams School in Orono. She organizes and promotes an annual juried fine art and craft show in Ellsworth called The Gifted Hand. Her articles on art education have been published in 'SchoolArts Magazine' and her artwork was featured in the 2005 & 2007 Women Artists Datebook published by Syracuse Cultural workers and distributed nationally. As the artist behind Fern House Studio, she creates artwork including watercolor and acrylic paintings, sculptural puppets and her own of cards. Her work can be purchased at galleries and fine craft shows throughout Maine, please see the galleries and shows page for more information.

Christina is a member of the following professional arts organizations:

Juried Member, Designing Women
Professional Member, Maine Crafts Association
Member, Deer Isle Artists’ Association, Deer Isle, Me.
Union of Maine Visual Artists, Down East Chapter, Ellsworth, Me.