In Roberts Creek, Hannah Stone glimmers and glitters like a North Star – a Hollywood North star. Her pop art style multimedia ink paintings flash strong vibrant colours (including a lot of pink and a hefty allotment of sparkles). Each piece is wonderfully fresh and cool.

Born in New Zealand as the youngest of five children, Hannah’s British parents brought the family to BC, settling in the Mission-Abbotsford area of the Fraser Valley. With such an international start, it’s interesting to learn she was raised in humble surroundings. Her father built boats and her mother encouraged the children to create things from a variety of “found” items. As a result they became very artistic, as evidenced by artists Hannah, and her sister Tina Spalding of Salt Spring Island.

From a very early age Hannah was attracted to pink, a fact she attributes to being an Aries, and she was also interested in the artistic possibilities of glitter..

“I’ve always had a huge collection of glitter for no reason and just started experimenting with it.”

Abbotsford was where Hannah realized she had a knack for art, and it was by accident. In grade 12 she needed an elective, and in art class discovered she had an ability to draw well. This opened a door she had not considered before, and was also her only formal art training.

At 18 she developed an urge to see the world (while many of her former classmates were getting into “big hair and breeding”). Starting her SCUBA trainer certificate in Vancouver, she completed it in Egypt. From there she travelled around Asia (India, Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia), tried bungee jumping while working in New Zealand’s Coronet park, rested for four years in the Virgin Islands where she started experimenting with acrylic painting, moved on to Nantucket, Massachusetts for three years, and finally returned to BC in Vancouver.

This life-education through travelling has influenced her style on canvas and in clothing design. Blending cultures in her Killer Beaver line of fashions, Hannah melds Eastern fabrics (specifically, vintage saris) with Western clothing (tank tops and skirts). Many of the tops and T-shirts also feature Hannah’s pop-art graphics.

On canvas, Hannah’s subjects range from the real (tanks, dogs, skulls) to the surreal, such as in her “Cherry Bomb” which focuses on a small girl named 61 with big eyes and a dark side (a bit of a self-portrait). The painting is done using acrylic inks and an eyedropper; the ink is then moved around the canvas by blowing on it through a straw. Using inks means mistakes are permanent, but Hannah likes having had to develop skills to work with results. Once again India shows its influence through the colour combinations of royal blues, bright reds… and yes, pinks.

Hannah also likes to juxtapose startling elements in her composition: sparkles on dump trucks, for example. Her foray into machines has opened the door to a new audience, as her November show at the Gumboot held small boys in awe. Backhoes are only the start as Hannah bends her subjects to her will.

“I’m a little obsessed with army men and army stuff,” she says, so be prepared for a series featuring “hot pink gay army men in glitter”.

While the darkness shadowing some of her more surreal work hints at struggles and challenges, it is clear that her work has become an affirmation of her personal growth and reflects that glittering sense of humour which grounds her.

Hannah’s work is on view at:
Subeez, Vancouver, May 15 – July 15
Higher Grounds, Kitsilano, June
One O One Office Supplies, Sechelt, June
Roberts Creek Salon, July 1st and on…
Café Deux Soleils, Vancouver, July – August
Gumboot Café, Roberts Creek, August

New pieces are often added to her website www.gohannahstone.com, so be sure to check in there frequently.