A Mother Daughter Collaboration + Art Heals Project
Prints of our rotating gallery available for purchase in the Hopedealer Shop. A portion of proceeds from every sale benefit Fountain House Gallery in New York City. Established as a not-for-profit exhibition space by members and staff in 2000, Fountain House Gallery and Studio provides an environment in which artists living with mental illness can express their creative visions and exhibit their work.
Heather Hudak | Digital Artist
As a digital artist, I am drawn to the intersection of the sacred and the mundane, illuminating the mystical threads woven through our everyday world. My work transforms pixel and screen into portals, inviting viewers to recognize the divine in the familiar. Inspired by the creative spirit of my artist parents, I approach each piece as both heirloom and invocation. Their influence taught me that art is not just made; it is communicated, passed down, and carried forward like an ancestral chant. In my practice I seek to translate that lineage into digital form, layering symbolism and subtle visual whispers that echo the spiritual traditions of home.
Guided by meditative visions, I channel the fleeting glimpses of the mystical into form. These visionary experiences, encountered with quiet communion with the breath, serve as the starting point for compositions in which light, color and symbol converge. I find an artistic kinship with Hilma af Klint, whose channeling through trance and automatic drawing produced some of the earliest abstract paintings, created in service of spiritual entities, and intended for a temple of the soul. Like af Klint, I strive to give shape to the unseen, weaving geometry, color, and nature into a symbolic system that bridges earth and ether.
My digital process is intuitive: I begin with a meditative vision, then weave together photographic elements and digital effects. The final images hold doorways, literal or metaphorical, through which the viewer might cross the boundary between visible and invisible. These are intimate moments – a halo of light behind a doorway, shimmering sigils in a reflection, or ethereal forms merging with everyday scenes. These encounters aim to spark revelation, to see the world as alive, shimmering with invisible patterns, charged with unseen power, and in constant dialogue with realms beyond sight.
Ultimately, I hope my work helps viewers engage their sense of wonder, perceive the sacred embedded in ritual, the radiant energy within ordinary spaces, and the profound bond with our animal companions. It is my invitation to walk through portals of light and pause, glimpse the divine and feel its resonance.
Ruth Parson
Oil Painting | Drawing | Sculpture
My creative journey spans over 60 years. Working in oil paints, drawing and sculpture, my work explores gesture, texture, color and emotional resonance across forms. My work is rooted in close observation of the world around me, the land, community, family, animals, and domestic interiors, always with an aim to evoke feeling and connection. I find inspiration in the everyday and the intimately familiar, always pursing art as a path to meaning, feeling, and shared humanity.
I began writing at the age of eight and have followed a self-directed artistic path ever since. While pursuing a Master’s degree in Psychology, I worked as a sculpture technician in the university art department, gaining hands-on experience that deeply shaped my sculptural practice. I also learned foundational painting techniques from my husband, painter Steve Harlow, over the course of our thirty-five year marriage.
A central focus of my work is the creation of an emotional thread that binds artist and viewer. I am drawn to the subtle human response: a lift of the eyebrows, a quiet intake of breath, a sigh. My art is an invitation into the shared, visceral moment.
Throughout my life, I have presented artwork and performance pieces in Sonoma County, San Francisco, New York City, and San Diego. My career in community-based mental health, spanning five decades in Sonoma County and NYC, engaged my creative work in community. I’ve brought art into my therapeutic practice whenever possible and was part of the founding team behind Fountain House Gallery in New York, now celebrating 25 years as a vibrant space for artists living with mental illness.
