Heo was born in
South Korea, but she was raised in
Texas where she studied at the
University of Texas at Austin. She started her career in
Los Angeles as an Art Director in music packaging at
Warner Bros. Records. With Jan Sheets, she created the artwork for
Monster in My Pocket. Then she held jobs at
A&M Records and
Maverick Records, and worked with recording artists including
Conor Oberst,
Bright Eyes,
Jim James,
My Morning Jacket,
Devendra Banhart,
Jack White,
Kurt Vile and
Matt Corby. Heo and her husband
Gary Burden have collaborated on the art direction and design of
album covers. When Heo worked with Young on the design of his
Neil Young Archives Vol. I Box Set in 2010, Young introduced her to the work of
assemblage artist
Wallace Berman, influencing her "NEIL" painting on the Vol. I box. The art team that worked on the Archives – Young, Heo and Gary Burden – won the 52nd
Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package in 2010. Heo worked with Young on several more albums. After winning the Grammy, Heo began working on what would eventually become known as the Neil Young Series—thirteen oil paintings on
found objects and
mixed media assemblages. The series, containing personal photographs of Young's life and found objects pointing to the themes of his music, was praised as "an intimate look into the mind of the famed musician". ==Awards==