Meet Bethany Richards

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Richards.

Hi Bethany, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I am PinkRiches aka Bethany Richards. A visual artist, poetess and mother from the Twin Cities, Minnesota. I have a message of love and unity that propels my work forward. I use metaphors, symbolism, typography and stories to convey my perspective; that we are all worthy of love and belong to the world that we have collectively created. I hope the images and thoughts bring light to and spur conversations in the community at large.

I grew up in the Minneapolis suburbs, leaving for upstate New York to study costume design at Syracuse University. After obtaining my Bachelor’s, I returned home to attend Aveda Institute and interned for a few local theaters. Setting my sights higher, I drove out to Los Angeles, making it home for the next ten years.

While in Los Angeles, it became clear the film world was not for me and I met a community of artists who welcomed me into their studios. I was able to explore other avenues of producing art and ways to put my ideas and thoughts into the world. I set up on Venice Beach, participated in art walks and local galleries, and live painted at festivals and parties. I honed my painting skills and met inspirational humans along the way. On a chance meeting and a long conversation with a muralist, I was invited to be an intern for a pay-your-own-way trip to Nepal. Through a change in circumstance, I was invited onto the team and painted 3 murals, leading art and therapy sessions for women and children. This led to a three-month artist residency in Kathmandu where I lived and worked with Nepali and other international artists. When this residency was over, I went back to Los Angeles where I sold my belongings and moved into a van. Being Nomadic, I traveled throughout the West Coast in Myrtle the Pink Turtle. I painted at festivals and murals until my van broke down.

Now returning home to raise my child, I’m painting a new story. I have branched out in new territories, performing at poetry events and hosting a monthly event called Breakfast at Bethany’s. Being a mother, adjusting to staying in one location, winter and pondering through my next moves has given me new perspectives on how I create and why. In the spring I will be hosting a backyard Breakfast to showcase some wonderful artists I have connected with. It’s only the beginning, as the true excitement of creating is watching the seed of an idea sprout and take on form.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Any time I found myself in a dead-end, I learned to flip my perspective and I’ve been able to use my obstacles as lessons for my future. Initially, I left Minnesota wanting to explore what is in the greater world. This adventure led me to far off places, New York, Los Angeles, desert festivals and Nepal. In university, I faced a sexual assault leading into alcoholism and gave me purpose for my later work in Nepal. Next, I went to LA, drawn to a glamorous life in Hollywood. Through the way I was treated in the industry, I realized these were delusions of grandeur. This enabled me to look deeper for meaning and below the surface of appearances. Finding my way into the Mojave desert, I became a festie (someone who attends a lot of music festivals). Initially what drew me in was the atmosphere of love and light, which quickly turned into a breeding ground for competition and drugs. This brought out my resourcefulness in turning desolate situations into opportunities for growth and development. This is key in a function within my art: StrawberryPropaganda. By live painting and interacting with other festies, I was able to spread love during conflict, using the idea of propaganda and a sweet fruit. Because of a chance encounter, I was able to take this idea from the Mojave desert to the mountains of Nepal. In Nepal, I followed my intuition, thinking I would be washing brushes for a group of artists painting murals. In actuality, I suddenly was thrown into the mix. I didn’t feel I was ready, but with encouragement from the lead artist, I painted my first mural, engaged in art therapy with women and children rescued from sex trafficking and spoke about my own story at a rally on international women’s day. When I became pregnant, I had to rethink my nomadic life and the impact that would have on my child.

These examples have shown resiliency through the power of love and compassion for the humans and situations I found myself in. Using the lessons and experiences from my journey has led to a stronger mission of my artistic output and exploration.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Using my Breakfasts as an experimental space, I have been following a feeling to incorporate more spoken word and performance into my art, though still very much dedicated to my screen printing process. Overall, I love the aspects of interacting with an audience to pursue an idea, mine mainly being topics around love and our human existence.

I invite a group of artists and creative thinkers to eat breakfast at my house and share what we’ve been thinking about and working on to gain feedback and network in an intimate setting. This spring I’m expanding this event to include community members and neighbors. Now that I no longer have the ability to up and travel, I’m looking forward to bringing cultures into my home and teaching my son through a world lens. I love meeting new humans and hearing stories from their own existence, I take this passion and use it to inform my artistic expression. I plan to do a few summer art fairs and continue to push how I create.

Keep up to date with my offers and events by following @love.pinkriches on Instagram or Patreon where I release about weekly poems and recordings. I have select pieces available on my website www.pinkriches.com.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
When I was a child, around 2nd or third grade, I changed my name to Zelda Perkins. I told everybody I was a changeling from Mars. As an alien alter ego I was able to watch the world from a new perspective. I watched, copied, experimented and it gave me an excuse to dress extravagantly and filled my imagination and mind; watching and learning how to be a human. My signature look at the time was two different colored socks. In middle school, I had a gym teacher who would require me to change into two matching white socks in order to participate in class.

I look back now to this as my first social experiment, a way of living an artistic life. I have followed this feeling and attempted to learn and grow as I interact with other humans throughout my life, exploring the unknown and expanding to find love in humanity and places unexpected.

Pricing:

• Email inquires to strawberrypropaganda@gmail.com

Contact Info:

• Email: strawberrypropaganda@gmail.com
• Website: www.pinkriches.com
• Instagram: @love.pinkriches
• Other: www.patreon.com/lovepinkriches

Image Credits
Siri Jean Photography