Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Hanson.
Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I spent the first part of my career in the corporate world, working in global marketing and communications, eventually becoming a VP at Electrolux. For a long time, I was the primary breadwinner for my family — raising triplet daughters, managing teams across continents, and doing everything I could to hold it all together.
But underneath the surface, I felt disconnected from myself. I had always been a creative person — painting, writing, making things with my hands — but for years, I had put that part of me on the back burner. After going through a series of life events, including cancer and eventual burnout, I knew something had to change.
In January 2020, just before the world shut down, I left the corporate world for good. I thought I’d finally have the space to reconnect with myself and rebuild my life through art — and I did. But doing that in the midst of a global pandemic added a whole new layer of challenge and complexity. I was still trying to be the breadwinner, but now with no steady paycheck, leaning fully on my creativity to make ends meet. It was both beautiful and brutal. There were moments of deep clarity and purpose — and there were also moments when the mountain felt impossibly steep.
I eventually opened a studio in Asheville’s River Arts District. My work as a painter deepened, and I also began consulting with other creatives and spiritual entrepreneurs around branding and storytelling. I built a business called Embrace the Space Between to house it all — the art, the message, and the transformation behind the scenes.
Then, in 2024, our lives were turned upside down. A hurricane hit Asheville, flooding the gallery where I exhibited my work. That same week, we made the difficult decision to relocate to Minnesota to be closer to family — my husband is originally from Saint Joseph, and we were fortunate to have a place to land.
Since then, I’ve been rebuilding — both personally and professionally. I’ve returned to painting full-time, slowly integrating into the arts community here in Central Minnesota. I’ll be part of the Millstream Arts Festival this year, and that feels like a meaningful way to start showing up in this new chapter — not just as an artist, but as a neighbor. It’s been a winding path, but at the heart of it all is the same intention: to live and create with integrity, presence, and purpose.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been anything but smooth. The biggest challenge wasn’t just starting over — it was losing the identity I had spent years building. I had been a corporate executive, a mother, a provider, a wife. And then, one by one, those roles began to dissolve. Cancer was the first crack. After that came the slow unraveling: I left my job. My daughters left for college. I no longer had a title, a team, or a clear answer to the question, “So, what do you do?”
Even as I began to find my way back to art, I carried a lot of internal doubt — and external pressure. I didn’t have an art degree. I was starting “late.” The world didn’t exactly roll out a red carpet when I said I wanted to be a full-time painter. In fact, much of the messaging I received — directly and indirectly — was to stay in my lane. To stop trying to break out of the box I’d been placed in. I heard the unspoken words: “Who do you think you are?” And I felt the quiet discomfort of others. Because when someone starts to shine their light again, it can stir something in people — especially if they haven’t given themselves permission to shine their own.
Then in 2024, a hurricane hit Asheville and flooded the gallery where I was showing my work. It was devastating. I couldn’t bear to go see it right away, so my husband went in my place. He sent me photos of the damage, bore witness to what I couldn’t yet face, and returned with something I never expected: my name plaque, covered in mud, still clinging to the outside wall of the building. He brought it home to me. That moment felt like a message from something bigger: Yes. You are still an artist. Keep going. I still have that plaque.
There have been so many moments like that — moments where I wanted to give up, or go back to something safer. But every time I’ve followed my truth — even when it’s hard — I’ve moved one step closer to a life that feels real and whole. The challenges have shaped me. And they’ve deepened my commitment to making work that helps others feel less alone as they find their own way back to themselves.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a painter. My work explores the space between destruction and rebirth — the moments when we lose ourselves, and the slow, courageous return to something more true. I create large-scale paintings using intuitive color, layered texture, and raw mark-making. It’s a visceral process, rooted in story, emotion, and soul.
What sets my work apart isn’t just the visual language, but the life that shapes it. I spent over two decades in global corporate leadership before becoming a full-time artist. That path has given me a deep reverence for personal transformation — and a no-nonsense kind of resilience. I paint from that place. My work is informed by myth, memory, feminine archetypes, and the unseen energies we move through as we change our lives.
One of my current bodies of work is inspired by The Red Shoes myth from Women Who Run With the Wolves. It explores the soul loss that happens when we abandon our creativity — and the hunger that drives us back to it. These themes show up again and again in my work: the cost of self-abandonment, and the beauty of return.
I often say my paintings are portals — transmissions, even. They’re meant to hold space for others who are navigating their own thresholds: the women who are reclaiming themselves, the creatives starting over, the ones waking up to who they really are. I’ve had collectors tell me they stand in front of one of my pieces and suddenly feel like they can breathe again. That’s what I hope for — not perfection, but presence.
I’m most proud of the fact that I didn’t give up on this part of myself. That I let the art come through — even when it didn’t make sense to the world around me. And now, I’m honored every time someone tells me that something in the work helped them feel seen, or reminded them of their own inner knowing. That’s the whole point.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to support my work is by visiting my website, embracethespacebetween.com. You’ll find available paintings, upcoming events, and stories behind the work. I update it regularly and it’s the best place to see what’s unfolding in real time.
If a piece speaks to you, or if you’re interested in working together, please feel free to reach out directly through the site. I love hearing from people — whether it’s to purchase a painting, explore a collaboration, or simply share what resonated.
I’m also open to aligned partnerships — especially with curators, writers, and other creatives who are exploring the connection between art, story, and personal transformation. In the past, I’ve supported others through branding and storytelling consulting, and I’m always curious about what new collaborations might emerge.
You can also subscribe to my Substack, Living Life in the Liminal Spaces, where I share behind-the-scenes reflections, essays, and painting stories. I’ll be posting more there soon about my upcoming series inspired by The Red Shoes myth from Women Who Run With the Wolves.
And if you’re local, I’ll be showing work at the Millstream Arts Festival in Saint Joseph, MN this August. It would be lovely to meet in person — come by and say hello!
Most of all, I appreciate people taking the time to engage with the work — even quietly. Art, to me, is a conversation. And I’m always honored when someone sees themselves in what I create.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.embracethespacebetween.com/
- Instagram: @embracethespacebetween
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heatherhansonfineart
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mheatherhanson/
- Other: https://embracethespacebetween.substack.com/
