We recently connected with Tara Bennethum and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tara, thanks for joining us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

When I was five years old, I was hospitalized for a significant stretch of time. Being that young in a sterile, clinical environment is terrifying; you feel entirely disconnected, helpless, and small. One afternoon, a hospital volunteer walked into my room carrying a homemade, crocheted\ felt red “Brave Heart Lion” Care Bear.

She didn’t know me, but she chose to see me. In a world of white coats and cold equipment, she brought me something soft, intentional, and vibrantly alive with color. Holding that vibrant red bear changed the entire frequency of that scary room for me. It gave me a tangible sense of fierce courage and comfort right when I needed it most.

That single, quiet act of kindness has stayed with me for over forty years. It taught me the profound weight of intentionality—how a deliberate pivot of energy and care can completely alter someone’s reality. Today, as an abstract artist and entrepreneur, that moment still anchors my work. I create because I know exactly what it feels like to need a reminder of your own inner strength, and I want my art to be that vivid, comforting “Brave Heart” for someone else.

Tara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For those who are just stepping into my world, my name is Tara Bennethum, and I am the founder of Wildlight Alignment LLC and an abstract acrylic artist. My journey into this discipline wasn’t born out of a traditional art school path; it was forged through a lifelong relationship with the emotional and energetic weight of color.

I’ve always seen the world through a highly intuitive lens. For years, I moved through different professional landscapes, including working in the fast-paced, high-sensory environment of professional kitchens. But art and energetic alignment were always the undercurrents of my life. Eventually, I reached a point of absolute clarity: I wanted to build an unapologetic, high-frequency space where my creative work and my intuitive frameworks could exist together. That is how Wildlight Alignment was born. I transitioned my path, reclaimed my sovereignty, and stepped fully into the role of a creative entrepreneur.

The Works I Provide
My creative output is deeply tactile and intentional. As an abstract artist, I specialize in vibrant acrylic paintings, custom zodiac-inspired works, and heavily detailed ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions and Originals). My art is highly textured and symbolic—I frequently layer rich acrylics with metallic inks, intricate runes, sigils, and dried flora to create what I consider to be “energy talismans.” Every piece I create isn’t just decorative; it holds a specific frequency meant to shift the space it inhabits.

The Problem I Solve & What Sets Me Apart
A lot of people feel stuck, disconnected, or visually fatigued by a world that asks them to blend in or over-explain themselves. I solve the problem of emotional and energetic stagnation. I help clients create a visual and spiritual anchor in their lives.

What completely sets my work apart is my foundational framework: The Inner Core Color Map. This is a self-developed color theory system where I map specific emotional, psychological, and energetic states to a vibrant spectrum of colors (such as Red for fierce boundaries, or Yellow for deep self-awareness). I don’t just paint pretty pictures; I channel these specific “energy codes” into the canvas. When a client buys a piece of my art, they aren’t just buying paint on a surface—they are bringing a deliberate, structured energetic frequency into their home or workspace to support their own alignment.

Additionally, my brand embraces a “Sovereign” or “Villain Era” aesthetic. To me, that means standing entirely in your own authority, refusing to people-please, and creating from a place of absolute, unfiltered truth. I don’t create passive art.

What I Am Most Proud Of
I am incredibly proud of the sheer grit it took to build this infrastructure from the ground up—from establishing Wildlight Alignment LLC to showcasing my work at major events like the St. Paul Spring Art Crawl and local curated shops. But on a deeper level, I am most proud of my ability to capture raw, invisible human experiences and transform them into physical, vibrant pieces of art that make people feel seen, protected, and empowered.

What I Want You To Know
If you are a potential client, follower, or fan, the main thing I want you to know is that my work is an invitation to stop playing small. Whether you are holding one of my tiny art cards or hanging a massive canvas on your wall, my brand is about fierce comfort, unapologetic self-awareness, and high-frequency alignment. You don’t need to explain yourself to the world—you just need to align with who you already are.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience in business isn’t just about pushing forward; sometimes it’s about having the courage to completely dismantle what you’ve already built because it no longer matches your frequency.

A while back, I had an established business identity operating under a different name. It was functional, but it felt passive—it was built on an old version of myself that was still trying to please everyone and fit into traditional boxes. I reached a point of absolute clarity where I realized that if I wanted to be a leader in my industry, I had to stop playing small.

I made the terrifying decision to tear down the old branding and completely start over, building Wildlight Alignment LLC from the ground up. Rebranding takes massive resilience because you are stepping into the unknown. I had to rebuild my entire digital infrastructure, create a totally new visual aesthetic, and introduce my unique “Inner Core Color Map” framework to a market that was used to more conventional art and wellness concepts.

There were moments of intense doubt where it would have been safer to stick with the comfortable, predictable old path. But I held my ground. Standing unapologetically in my authority and refusing to over-explain my new direction allowed me to build a brand that is fiercely authentic. It taught me that real resilience is being willing to burn down the comfortable to make room for the exceptional.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of my work is witnessing the exact moment a piece of my art shifts someone else’s internal frequency.

Because I build my art around my self-developed system, the Inner Core Color Map, every single brushstroke, metallic line, and layer of texture is applied with a deliberate energetic intention. I am channeling specific codes—like fierce boundaries, deep self-awareness, or unapologetic sovereignty—directly into the physical medium.

When a client or gallery visitor stops in front of a canvas or holds one of my small art cards, and they suddenly exhale, or their eyes light up, or they say, “I don’t know why, but I feel incredibly grounded looking at this”—that is the ultimate reward.

As a creative, I have the ability to take raw, invisible, complex human emotions and turn them into something tangible that people can bring into their homes to protect and support their own alignment. Knowing that a talisman I created with my own hands is serving as a daily visual anchor for someone else to stand in their own authority and power is an unmatched feeling. It bridges the gap between the isolated hours spent in my studio and the collective human experience.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Wildlight Alignment llc
• Other: tiktok @wildlightalignment /TaraArtistColorHealing

Image Credits

these are just my personal photos