Creating positive change: an interview with Hannah Eddy

We could all use a little bit of positivity in our lives right now so we reached out to Hannah to talk about her inspirations, finding her style, skateboarding, pushing for positive change and what she has planned for the future.

Can you tell me about the motivational messages that have been the basis for a lot of your recent artworks? When did you start creating these and what inspired them?

I just see so many negative things all around us so I figured I’d start making positive art to help contribute to a more lighthearted and compassionate world! There are so many things that can bum us out, if I’m taking the time to create something I feel like it might as well make people (and myself) smile. I truly believe that one of the biggest things lacking in our world is empathy. If we could take more time being empathetic towards each other and our planet things would move in a much better direction. I try to contribute to the movement towards positive change on a daily basis with my personal choices, but I also want to add to it through my artwork as well. I know I can’t change the world on my own, but I can control my own attitude and choices which motivates me to keep learning and growing and sharing work that helps inspire others to do the same.

Your “No Complying” artwork caught a lot of attention recently. Can you talk us through the process of creating it?

This illustration was a reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement and unjust police brutality. A lot of people (myself included) are fed up with complying with our current corrupt (and racially/socially unjust) system which is why this caught a lot of attention. The illustration is a little middle finger to “the man” but also with a pun that skateboarders can relate to.

I saw you printed the design on t-shirts to to raise money for racial and social equality. How did that all come about? 

After the response, I decided to make a fundraising limited edition t-shirt with Teal Press after they reached out about wanting to work on a project together. We raised a bunch of money for Black Girls Skate and Black Artists Fund, so thank you to anyone who bought one and supported the cause! I still have prints of this design on my site but the shirts are all sold out.

Your work seems to center a lot around nature and features a lot of fun “flowy” women. Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?

I find inspiration for my art from the need to inspire stoke, connection to each other and the planet, and the importance of happiness/mental health. I also want to represent women getting rad, an appreciation for joy, and a need for inclusivity. I am able stay excited to create because I have so much fun doing it. Playing with color, form, typography, and messaging keeps it interesting and inspiring.

When did you start skateboarding and what got you into it?

Around 1991 when I was 4 years old my Grandma bought me my first skateboard. She brought me to the local toy store where she said I could pick out something… I was so hyped when I saw the skateboard and she was down! We didn’t have any sidewalks or anything near my house in Maine, so all I really did was carve around my driveway and eventually learn how to ollie with my little crew of homies. I didn’t know any other girls that skated as I grew up, but it is so cool now always seeing girls at the skatepark.

I got into snowboarding a few years later which became more of a focus for me. I was like, this is similar to skateboarding but so much easier, I can do all the stuff I wish I could do on a skateboard! Haha. Snowboarding was a huge part of my life from then on, and I ended up going west to college in Colorado to keep snowboarding as much as possible. I met the best crew of ladies out there that all snowboarded and skated. Finally having a super fun crew of girls around made me get way more into skating. A bunch of us ended up working at High Cascade Snowboard Camp at Mt. Hood in the summers (2007-2011 or so) where when we weren’t up on the glacier we were all skating a ton, that’s when it really stuck with me.

What mediums do you use to create your art?

I love painting with acrylics and gouache, I also really enjoy using paint pens and pen/ink. Currently I make most of my illustrations digitally on the iPad which is so fun.

Do you have a preference between working digitally vs. analogue?

I really enjoy that I can bring my iPad anywhere and still have my whole “studio” with me. I live in a really small house and my husband and I have a truck camper which we are always taking on adventures, so the freedom of the iPad has really been great. I won’t ever stop creating analogue work though, there’s nothing quite like the meditative process of working on a painting. I’m also getting more into mural work, which has been super fun and I hope to make more large scale public art in the future.

Your art has a very distinct style. Is that something that has always been there or did it develop over time?

My style has been evolving over the years, but I have always loved illustrating colorful fun playful characters and scenes. Skate culture and art has been a huge influence. I’ve always been inspired by skate and snowboard graphics. In the last few years I have really dialed it in to create work that combines my inspirations with what I truly connect to. I’ve taken a lot of time and practice to create my style and character work, and I’m just recently realizing how much I enjoy drawing these big hair girls ripping around and feeling the flow. I feel like I’m finally putting myself and my story in my art and it makes me happy and excited to keep creating, it feels more purpose driven now.

What advice do you have for other artists that are trying to hone their style?

Let yourself create, don’t try to limit it. Keep pushing and trying new things. If you’re psyched on something you’ll know it, and then see where that can go. It’s such a fun process! The best part about it is that there are no rules. Use your imagination and get weird!

Can you tell me about the Pow and Chow cookbook you created?

Last year my Husband Tim and I created a plant-based cookbook called Pow and Chow as a fundraiser for Protect Our Winters (an environmental non-profit that we are ambassadors for). The recipes are all easy to make, healthy, affordable, and based around winter adventures. We know the importance of respecting your food, knowing how its made, and where it comes from, so we love to encourage our friends to cook for themselves and strengthen that connection. I filled the book with fun illustrations, and Tim took a bunch of photos. The “Powder Panic Pancakes” were a hit, haha. We sold out pretty quickly, raised a bunch of money for POW, and we had a great time making it!

This might be a ridiculous question, but do you have any exciting plans for the rest of 2020?

2020 is an interesting time for sure. My plans are to keep trying to be positive and help create some good vibes with my art. I’m working on a few more products besides prints in my online store, maybe a couple of organic shirt drops coming soon! More fundraisers for sure too, and continuing to work with Protect Our Winters. I have some projects and client work that I’m excited about, so I feel lucky to still have freelance gigs flowing in. I am scheduled to collaborate on a wall with an awesome muralist Amanda Valdes for a mural event in Sand City, CA at the end of September which is exciting! I’m trying to stay loose and go with the flow, at this point anything could happen. Also, I will skate a bunch to stay sane obviously. AND, I plan to VOTE November 3rd, and I hope all of you other Americans reading this do too.

Interview: Sarah Huston
Photos: courtesy of Hannah Eddy