Printmaker Ellen Heck was born in New York City and raised in several states before settling in Austin, TX at age ten. Heck is based out of North Carolina and is represented by galleries in the United States and the United Kingdom. She has an A.B. in Philosophy from Brown University and a BFA in Printmaking/Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After degree programs, she worked as an artist in residence at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA for 6 years. Heck's work is included in the following collections: Victoria and Albert Museum, MFA Boston, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Stanford University, Swope Art Museum, The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, Hawaii State Foundation of Culture and the Arts, and the Dartmouth University Library. Growing up with an illustrator mother, Heck gathered firsthand knowledge of how to become a career artist. She describes her middle and high school years as "almost a graphic design apprenticeship." After participating in successful shows from 2010-2014 and winning a Northern Print residency at the International Print Biennale, Heck realized that "making art for my own reasons could and would be as sustainable as making art for commissioned projects." Since then, she has worked in a series of self-assigned projects, putting together gallery shows and portfolios that explore specific questions, stating: "I cherish this freedom, and look at each of these bodies of work as bridges in a lifelong artistic quest."