In 2004, when Herron painting and printmaking students met with a doctor from Clarian Health, a nonprofit healthcare provider serving Indiana and the Midwest, heart disease turned out to be a compelling subject for creative pursuits.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, and Clarian partnered with Herron to tell that reality to the people of Indiana through works of art. Heart disease’s devastating affects became the impetus for A Woman’s Heart, a traveling exhibition of paintings and monotype prints, to bring together varied works united by a common goal to educate. The 18 paintings and 16 prints range from a work of art created in loving memory of a family member, to a piece based on a 1946 advertisement from Popular Science magazine promoting the acceptance and popularity of smoking among physicians, to a vivid depiction of the cycles and changes a heart endures inside the body of a smoker.

The exhibition traveled throughout the state of Indiana—to The America Heart Walk, Methodist Heart Day, the Indianapolis Colts Walk, and other venues. By the close of the traveling exhibition, thousands of people experienced the thought-provoking work and learned about heart disease in women.

A Woman’s Heart and its success in reaching the minds (and hearts) of a large audience demonstrate what can happen when art and science become one pulsing source of vital, creative expression.