There’s something really amazing about art: it’s timeless. Any one, in any time can look at a work of art and appreciate something a little different about it; something that speaks to them, personally. People today can still appreciate the sounds of Mozart, or the starry nights of van Gogh, in the same way we can appreciate the sights and sounds of our own time from Beyonce, to street art.
Art can also be found everywhere. Even at the grocery store.
Lexi Hannah is one such local artist who found her inspiration while visiting Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany. She said she had always loved the vibe and the mission of the Co-op. A self proclaimed “go getter” she went on Instagram and reached out to the store to inquire about an opportunity to paint there.
Hannah grew up in Latham, went to Shaker High, and SUNY Geneseo. Throughout her college studies, she traveled abroad to Greece, Italy, and Spain. She was taken by the art conversations in Florence, and decided to study art history. “I enjoy the theory behind it.” She studied in Florence again before she graduated.
Post graduation, she lived in Ecuador for a while painting murals and teaching English. She landed back in the States in 2019 living in Boulder, but ended up back in Albany right before the pandemic struck.
Hannah was living locally for about six months “and then the world stopped.” But she said it was good for her. Mentally, she was looking for new inspiration. She said her work forces her to get out of her head and into her hands; it was very therapeutic. She feels she may be one of only a few who might say it, but the pandemic was good for her. “I appreciated the modality of integrating creativity to heal.”
Hannah has typically done commissioned works, such as portraits and house paintings, but she also teaches art lessons. So she was a little surprised when the Co-op got back to her and said that they were all for the work she was suggesting.
They explored many different areas and walls of the building before Hannah saw the front exterior wall, and thought, “I’ve never painted on that before…I just have to have confidence.”
The project began in November, and she wrapped up back in March. The project took 200 hours total over the course of 35 days, working 3 to 6 hours a day. The cleaning of the wall took six hours alone, and priming the wall took another four, just to make sure the paint would actually stick! She was also working through the coldest part of the year, and some of the mediums she was using can only be utilized in temperatures above 49 degrees.
Hannah was working on this project during the height of the second wave of the pandemic. “I loved every minute of it; just being able to talk to people during such an isolating time.” She said that people would approach her and ask about her work, which even helped her acquire some new students.
While the physical act of putting paint on canvas, as it were, started in November, there was a whole process that came before. She had to come up with a theme that connected with people, and patrons of the co-op. Hannah wanted to capture the essence of the co-op and how it works with the community, while also finding ways to visually recognize each department within. She also found that as she was performing the work, bystanders and patrons would offer their own suggestions––and while most would take offense or dismiss the insights, Hannah accepted every bit of “advice,” as it helped her to feel very collaborative with the community.
This collaboration was infiltrated into all aspects of the planning and execution of the work; and even into the actual painting itself. “All are Welcome,” which is the Co-op’s slogan, is translated into commonly spoken languages in the region: Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew, and Spanish.
Lexi Hannah launched her new website this past spring; there you can find info on her work, commission items with her, and also check out the cool places she’s been featured (such as Instagram and Insider). You can see some of her other local work at the Copper Crow (the old Stout) in the Warehouse District in Albany, where Hannah has created a mural of the old Copper Crow building as it appeared in 1907.
Hannah had some very inspirational words for others looking to forge their way into the art realm, “Find who you are outside the context of what other people are going to say; do work that is authentic to you and not to satisfy others.”
Author’s note: I spoke with Lexi Hannah nearly three months ago about this work, and while my life got busy, and I could have simply moved on from this piece, her words, her work, and her passion need to be shared and extolled. Artists always have a story to tell, and Lexi’s is only just beginning.
