We recently connected with Hannah Ricke and have shared our conversation below.

Hannah , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I like to endanger myself every so often, and my story of BECOMING MYSELF started with a big one.

I was finishing a Masters in Clinical Social Work (mental health) when I knew that my reserves were depleted and I needed to turn my deserts back into the lush rainforests they once were.

So I decided to undertake a momentous backpacking trip. Mexico to Canada, along the wilderness path called the Pacific Crest Trail.

My first night on trail was my first night of backpacking ever. I had never even set up my tent. (!!!! GAH, Past Hannah, you wonderful FOOL!)

Its amazing when a woman takes a big risk, and it goes WELL. Because that huge risk, of hiking such a vast expanse, went SO WELL and now I trust myself more than I ever have.

While hiking, a thought kept persisting, with such indefatigable diligence that I thought “Huh. Something in me wants to be heard.”

And the thought was, “What if you gave being an Artist your full effort?”

I have always created, but never fully. I’ve always “half-assed” any artistic endeavor.

So that was another risk: jumping from the stability of a degree and a full time job into….nothingness. I would have to cut out my wings out of clouds on the way down. (I’m a paper collage artist)

The next risk was, to me, even bigger than deciding to hike in the first place:

I was on my last four miles of my time on trail, when I got an IDEA as scary as anything I had ever yet faced. And it was to perform the journal that I kept while hiking as a live show.

I remember the terror even now. Like a bucket of ice splashed right up against my heart.
But shortly behind the terror was the thrill.

And I followed the fear, the thrill.

I’ve now presented three live shows of my writing while backpacking. Now I have an unofficial “audiobook”, a podcast, and a true CALLING. I’ve written a children’s book about backpacking. And all my art is about brave women and Nature.

People reading this, FOLLOW THE FEAR. Therein lies wonder.

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

I have always been a creator, but it was pure exhaustion that led me to paper collage. I was a clinical social worker, and then got my Masters: so after a long day of mental health work, I would be so tired that all I wanted to do was not talk, and let my brain rest.

My brain rested in collage, because I was too tired to paint or draw, HAHA!

In that exhausted desert, I hit a hidden river of muddy diamonds, and now I absolutely have found my creative sweet spot.

I create one of a kind paper collages created solely from recycled books. My grandma gifted me the typewriter she used when she was little, so I type either time honored text or my own writing to enhance and illustrate the collages. The imagery and the writing create a symbiosis and both invigorate the other.

I’ve been told that my work gives people the feeling that they might make brave choices . That they might live fiercely. Live lushly.

. All I want to do with my work is …

a) invigorate people toward courage to squeeze out the juice of life

b) inspire people to “pay attention, be astonished, tell about it” (quote from the divine Mary Oliver

and

c) inspire people to fall in love with Nature so hard that they’ll do what it takes to protect her.

Now that I’m a full time artist, I’ve enjoyed incorporating more of my own paintings, drawings, and writings into my collage work.

It’s endlessly exciting. I create whatever I want.

I’m so honored that people want the joy of my spirit on their walls and in their homes.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

YES: I think every person should read Stoic philosophy. I’m only one philosopher deep: I read “Letters from a Stoic” “by” Seneca last year. I regularly read quotes from Marcus Aurelius.

And I think Stoicism is so important for the modern person.
It talks about being the captain of your own ship, the flier of your own kite.

It talks about living well in abundance and bravely shouldering the burdens when there is the lack of abundance.

It talks about controlling what one can control and letting go the rage of what one cannot.

This has helped me so much in my business, because I control what I can do (my productivity, my rest, my risks and chances taken) and I am learning to let go of angst about what I can not (low sales, low engagement).

Our most important tool in creating is the one between our ears, and Stoicism has helped strengthen that tool.

Another essential book for my thinking and business is Women Who Run with the Wolves, by Dr. Christina Pinkola Estes. She is a Jungian therapist who examined folk tales for feminist truths.

This book has honed my ability to trust my instincts, which is essential for any business owner. It honed my ability to do no harm, but take no shit. It honed my ability to stand tall in my skin and feel my spine glow gold within me.

Read “Women Who Run with the Wolves.”

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes!

LIVE FIERCELY.

Yes!

“PAY ATTENTION. BE ASTONISHED. TELL ABOUT IT.” (quote by Mary Oliver)

Yes!

SEEK BEAUTY TO HER VERY LAIR.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mentalpaint.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mental.paint
• Twitter: handle: HannahMentalPaint

Image Credits
all these pictures were taken, or created, by me