Heather Burke

owner + creator

Heather is a mother, wife, and native New Englander. For many years, she worked as a dental laboratory technician creating dental restorations utilizing the ancient "lost wax" technique—sculpting teeth from wax and casting them into gold—while other were made with porcelain. It was an occupation she enjoyed; one that combined science and craftsmanship, and honed her eye for esthetics and details.

After her kids had grown and in search of new adventures, she and her husband moved to rural outer Cape Cod and Nantucket, Massachusetts. There, she taught herself to needlefelt. The beautiful coastal surroundings and a desire to be a creative entrepreneur inspired her to start Piping Plover Love, her in-home studio, in 2017.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I create needle-felted sculptures inspired by the animals we encounter—often briefly, and often by chance—in the natural world. Working in wool, I recreate birds, mammals, amphibians, and insects with careful attention to form and presence, aiming not only for realism but for a sense of recognition.

Each piece is an invitation to remember the quiet joy of these moments: the stillness of watching a bird at rest, the sudden appearance of a small creature along a path, the delicate strangeness of an insect up close. Wool, with its warmth and softness, allows me to translate these fleeting encounters into something tangible and enduring.

My work is about evoking a feeling—the connection between observer and animal, and the subtle sense of wonder that comes from sharing space with the more-than-human world.