Arriving in Moscow from Hailey in 2021, Kieran Heywood’s drawings and paintings were dark. Shocking. Maybe even a little scary. They were a reflection of Heywood’s emotions at the time.
But after completing their studies at University of Idaho, and because of the twists and turns they maneuvered along the way, a lot of the rough edges have been smoothed away and their future looks vivid.
“Ever since kindergarten, I’ve wanted to be an artist,” said Heywood, who will graduate in December with a BFA in studio art and design. “I started not to care about learning in high school because I felt like it wasn’t structured around what I needed. But here, I feel like the professors really care about making me a better artist and teaching me what I need to know.”
Rediscovering their Magic
Heywood grew up in the small community of West Magic, a lightly populated area near a reservoir in southern Idaho. Being close to nature gave them the space to be imaginative, which led to them drawing people and characters.
After graduating from high school in Hailey, and interested in exploring a different part of Idaho, Heywood searched for an in-state college with a robust art program. They found U of I’s College of Art and Architecture (CAA).
“I’ve fallen in love with this area,” Heywood said. “There’s lots of great scenery but it’s also a very welcoming community. It was exciting to come up to Moscow.”
Like many freshmen, however, they found that some of the same things they struggled with in high school followed them to college. For Heywood, it was depression. It took a comment from a former CAA professor and associate dean, the late Stacy Isenbarger, during Heywood’s first year to help them realize they might need a reset.
“We did self-portraits and she said she looked at them and said a lot of us were feeling sorry for ourselves or were caught up in our emotions,” Heywood said. “That really did something for me personally. I realized I wasn’t alone. I also realized a lot of my art was edgy, horror type stuff. Maybe it didn’t need to be.”
Realizing their mental health wasn’t where it should be, Heywood visited U of I’s Testing Center, where they were diagnosed with ADHD. Armed with that knowledge, and with strategies to deal with it, they set off to re-focus on what they came to Moscow for – creating art.
Heywood credits Aaron Johnson, CAA associate professor of painting and drawing, with helping them learn more about proportion, composition and all of the other “juicy skills” they have acquired during their time at U of I.
“One of the things I love about Kieran is their commitment to get better – to put in the work,” Johnson said. “Coming here, they recognized that their work wasn’t what they wanted and they’ve been willing to experiment and even make mistakes in order to progress to where they are now.”
We did self-portraits and she said she looked at them and said a lot of us were feeling sorry for ourselves or were caught up in our emotions. That really did something for me personally. I realized I wasn’t alone. I also realized a lot of my art was edgy, horror type stuff. Maybe it didn’t need to be.
Kieran Heywood
Senior in studio art and design
Detail work
Graduating in December instead of May wasn’t part of Heywood’s original plan. Life, and death, got in the way and they ended up taking a “gap semester” in 2023 – staying in Moscow but not taking any classes.
Their father passed away in November 2022, right around the time of the King Road homicides where four U of I students were killed. Those two events, which occurred right after Heywood’s partner was involved in a serious car accident, made it necessary for them to call a timeout.
“I was overwhelmed and I needed a break,” Heywood said. “But I’m glad I did it. I ended up with almost a whole year off to work on my art, to think, to breathe and to work through it all.”
Heywood returned to their studies the following semester and hasn’t looked back. They’ve been on the Dean’s List four consecutive semesters and have been awarded several scholarships based on academic and artistic merit, including the Gay V. Weake and Idaho Opportunity scholarships – all of which got them nominated for a CAA Alumni Award for Excellence.
After graduation, Heywood wants to go into illustrating, which they are doing for Blot Magazine this semester. They also plan to continue to sell art at pop culture events like Comic-Con and FanX.
Heywood reflects on their time at U of I as a chance to grow as an artist – finding a way to lighten up their paintings and drawings and focus on all the colors in their palette, not just the darker tones they brought with them from Hailey.
“I think Kieran realized there are subtle ways to talk about struggle, tragedy and personal difficulties,” Johnson said. “You can create a beautiful piece, and it can be colorful, but it can still have that conceptual idea of being sorrowful.”
Heywood’s growth as an artist while at U of I did not come without struggle. They hope they can show that just like the process of creating art, sometimes you have to regress before you can show progress.
“I always had hope for myself as an artist,” Heywood said. “Even when I was discouraged and maybe not in the best place, I had hope. I believe we’re capable of creating change in the midst of chaos. I kept pushing through that difficult path and I think that’s important for the world to see.”