We’re often expected to lead with what we do rather than who we are. If you asked me who I am, I’d tell you that my name is Hannah, and I’m an artist, singer, dreamer, connector, and space holder from Madison Wisconsin. If you ask me what I do, I’d tell you I’m a Customer Success Leader for a company called Rentable as well as the volunteer Marketing Director for Heroic Hearts Project, a nonprofit organization that helps veterans with military trauma access psychedelic therapy, coaching, and community.
I often find myself playing in the space between controlling what I can and and surrendering to that which is beyond my control. Thank you for letting me share my little offerings of beauty with you as I do my best to traverse a place that is both grounded and out of this world.
meet the artist
hannah kimyon
We. Are. All. Creative. And whether our art is painting on canvas, dancing with abandon, cultivating life in our garden, kneading dough into bread, or some other form of making, sometimes simply creating space and trying less are the ingredients we actually need to let our creativity unfold. This has certainly been true for me.
I have always had a hard time identifying myself as an artist. In so many ways, society teaches us that only an elite few are truly creative, while mixed messaging tells us that creativity is something that we should will ourselves into by simply trying harder or becoming more technically perfect. The process of becoming (or rather, owning up to being) an artist has been one of unlearning for me. A process of re-integrating parts of myself I had tucked away to hide protect. A process of radical acceptance of the messy magnificent imperfection that is me. That is human.
I’ve learned that creativity is being unafraid to make mistakes because the value is so much more in the process than in the result. My “work,” is actually the result of play for its own sake. It is the product of exploration and curiosity, dirty fingernails and laughter, flow and release. It is permission.
if you asked me I’d say…
my hometown:
I grew up Waconia, Minnesota, but Madison, Wisconsin is the place I’ve called home for the last 13 years.
My favorite medium:
For me it’s more about how I’m making rather than what I’m making with. I’m happiest when I can tap into a place where I’m letting something into the world through me rather than trying to “make” something. For me that often happens when I’m finger painting or singing with my eyes closed.
What I would Tell my younger self:
Adults are all just making it up as they go along.