We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hill Werth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hill, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

“We exist, despite.”

I am currently in the middle of a brand new art series to celebrate and focus on everyday people that are under represented/ marginalized individuals within our 2slgbtqia+ community. I have been facilitating photoshoots and asking individuals to submit photos that best represent themselves. These photos will be incorporated into my mixed media paintings. The whole point of this project is to share people’s stories so they can be felt, heard, and understood better. Visibility, awareness, and representation in certain spaces is so important. Opening show is on January 5th, 2024 at The Kingston School of Art Window Gallery.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

About me:

I was born and raised in the U.S. and have been an artist and athlete all my life. I was an all American track & field athlete at the University of California Los Angeles. I also was a member of the U.S.A National Bobsled Team. Since 2012, my life has revolved around my art and teaching career. From making guest speaking appearances at k-12 schools and universities, to national publications, to international recognition, I’m humbled by my artistic and athletic careers. I’m currently completing teacher’s college at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario to finish up my teaching certification. My teachables are Art and history. Being a trans non-binary artist and activist, I use my voice to spread visibility, awareness, and representation of my community.

How I got into my discipline:

Living and going to school in Los Angeles, I was inspired by all the street art. And was particulary drawn to spray paint and wanted to try it out. For my birthday, I was gifted 2 cans of Montana spray paint. I bought some stencils, and have spent the past 15 years building upon that process of using spray paint, stencils, and found objects to create heavily layered mixed media pieces of art.

What type of products/ services/ creative works do you provide?

I sell my original pieces of art. I also do certain commission pieces. Prints. Planters. Bookmarks. Stationary. Clothing. Etc. I also facilitate youth and adult mixed media workshops. And am getting ready to facilitate an on going monthly Pride Creativity Club that provides a creative outlet for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to come and connect with one another in a safe space.

What problems do you solve for your clients? What sets you apart from others?

I pride myself on making my art accessible for people. I do giveaways, price my products at a moderate scale, etc. My art is so personal to me, so I try to carry that over into my interactions with not only my clients, but with people. Having kind, meaningful interactions is something I strive for.

What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/ followers/ fans to know about you/your brand/your work?

I seem to be making an impact based on DM’s, messages, comments, conversations, etc. I feel through finding my voice and sharing that through my art… I’m able to help and connect to people. And that seems to be making a difference from the feedback I’ve gotten. I feel like I’m doing something bigger than myself. That was never my intention, but now that it’s a reality, I’m pretty proud of that. The kind and genuine messages filled with words of support keep me going.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I spent my whole life doing what I felt everyone else wanted me to do. I grew up in a family of professional athletes, so I always felt that pressure to be that caliber of athlete. Although I was a successful athlete, I was never truly happy.

At the age of 25, I retired from sports and was so excited to finally to do what I wanted. My art. I ran my own art business from 2012-2018. I had to stop because I had a mental break. What I realized was, although I got away from sports, I carried it into my art. From painting sports equipment for athletes on U.S. national teams, to doing commissioned pieces for professional sports teams, to gallery showings at major league baseball stadiums… I was still trying to be relatable. I was still trying to paint and create what was close to home. Sports. I was once again, doing what I thought others wanted of me subconsciously.

From 2018-2021 I barely created. I was burnt out. And needed to find who I was, but I didn’t know how. In the summer of 2021, after moving to Canada to marry my wife, I picked up my spray paint cans again for the first time in a long time. My wife encouragement and reminded me of my talent and passion and I slowly got back to it. But in a different way this time. Being authentically me. Not the me I thought was relatable. Not the me that didn’t rock the boat too much. The me that finally found their voice.

I didn’t know if I’d ever paint again. Or would want to. But returning and finding the real me, I’ve found that my success is bigger than I ever could’ve imagined. Sometimes what we see as a setback is actually aligning us with the path we’re meant to be on.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Right now it’s continuing to use my voice within my art. What started out as a personal journey as coming out as Trans, is now a journey I share with so many. I love this road I’m on and I can’t wait for what the future holds for myself, my career, and the bridges I build connecting with people because of it.       

Contact Info:

• Website: etsy.com/shop/slowandintentional
• Instagram: slow_and_intentional
• Facebook: Hill Werth. Slow & Intentional.
• Other: [email protected]