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'Veterans rock': Local army veteran James Heber blends his love of art with powerful messages

The Chippewa Herald - 8/22/2020

Aug. 21--A local veteran is giving back to his fellow service members through the power of artistic expression.

James Heber is an Army veteran and artist with a passion for depicting local scenery mixed with the stories of his fellow military veterans.

He began with painting the journey of a veteran from beginning to end in 2017 and has since painted pieces at Klein Hall of the Chippewa Falls skyline, the Chippewa River, the NSP building and the new downtown amphitheater.

Heber said began expressing his passion for the area through art when he moved to the area three years ago as a thank-you to servicemen and women in the area.

"This is just my way of saying thanks," Heber said. "I wanted to contribute to the sense of community in this area. It's conservative, but also passionate. Everyone around here talks to each other and I really enjoy that. People express who they are and it feels safe to me. Everyone matters here and everyone wants to have a good story to tell. I'm just helping to keep that going."

The Fond du Lac native attended the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, and has been painting since his grandfather started pushing him to follow his passion at age 8.

James also wanted to pursue his military career for an extended period of time, but during Advanced Individual Training he was forced to exit military service due to an undiagnosed medical condition.

Wanting to serve his country, but not being able to deploy is one of the inspirations for his involving veterans into his artwork. Heber said it is one small way he can give back to military members and do his part in spreading their stories and telling people of the good work they do for the country.

"I like doing things for the veterans because they matter, too," Heber said. "It's an ongoing thing in this area that people love veterans because they've served our country. Some people don't know their struggles, so I wanted to promote them and their stories to help people feel pride and feel good about it. Veterans rock and they do so much for us."

When the COVID-19 pandemic came to the forefront in March, it forced most of Heber's projects to be put on hold, but he made the effort to find a new way of pursuing his passion. Using his "Veterans Rock" painting depicting military service members performing in a rock band scenario at the downtown Chippewa Falls amphitheater, he created a T-shirt that is planned to be sold locally in the near future.

He plans to donate a portion of those proceeds back to veterans directly.

Heber said he plans to continue to pursue his passion for art, take on as many freelance projects as he can make time for and continue to celebrate veterans in any way he can.

"Art has always been on the backburner for me," Heber said. "It has always been a dream of mine. So, when I got these opportunities I decided I wasn't going to give up and I was going to keep on going. I'm glad to do what I love to do and do it by celebrating what is right here with us."

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