Alana Hansen - A story of how earth art comes to life
Impermanence can be defined as the state or fact of lasting for only a limited period of time, the understanding that this too will change. Making art with the earth brings Alana to a meditative state of mind where she can truly feel impermanence. In each time a leaf moves, or the elements change the course of a piece.
Video by Alex Harris
Alana Hansen is an artist who lives and breathes to create art with and inspired by nature. Having spent her childhood summers on the Southern Gulf Islands in Coastal British Columbia, Alana is drawn to places where the land meets the ocean. As a young child Alana would sing and draw as a way to express her emotions…the sounds of Alana singing about her day would echo through her childhood home. The essence of Alana’s whimsical inner child is alive within her work to this day. Through her ethereal watercolour paintings and impermanent earth art installation, she aspires to unearth a sense of curiosity, spirituality and reverence for the interconnectedness between all living beings.
Alana’s mission through watercolours and earth art is to inspire and express…-
Connection to & Reverence for the Earth
Mental Health Awareness & Advocacy
Mindfulness, Self-Compassion & Connection to Spirit
Empowered Birth & Motherhood
At its core, Alana hopes that people will feel a deep connection to their own experience in this world & beyond and a deeper connection to the earth.
When painting in nature, Alana will often look for offerings from her surroundings to embed into her artwork...a fallen leaf, water from streams, ocean, rain and mist can all become an intimate part of her creative process. By allowing the elements to enter her paintings, her art becomes a true collaboration with nature, an honouring of place, an expression of gratitude. Alana’s work can often be viewed at multiple perspectives, revealing a more spirited realm…this is where her inner child shines. Alana’s work transforms the subtleties in her surroundings - from colour, texture, shape, smell and sound, Alana paints the energy in which she experiences from nature as it connects with her own soul. Her artwork evokes a connection to spirit and practice of mindfulness, a sense of impermanence that unearths an immemorial truth - we are all interconnected.
Alana now resides on Galiano Island, where she is working to create watercolours and earth art that capture the essence of the Southern Gulf Islands. Her most recent series of work is inspired by the birth of her son Kaida, a powerful collection of pregnancy, birth and motherhood art.