About the artist

Hannah Garrison is an artist & art instructor in San Antonio, TX. A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2017 led her to experiment with using art as a form of physical, occupational, and mental health therapy for herself. Neuroplasticity, or the ability of neurons to create new pathways in the human brain, is enhanced by the repetition of certain activities. Theoretically, engagement in the arts can help in more ways than one.

Everything she creates is centered around the idea that art can be therapeutically and strategically implemented to heal. Her teachable artworks apply the use of repetition, bold colors, and simplification of complicated elements. She incorporates the use of line, texture, and rhythm – scribbles – to keep things lighthearted, intuitive, and playful; all in the name of making art more accessible and relatable.

She currently works with multiple nonprofit organizations as an art instructor for adults facing life-altering health challenges, including multiple sclerosis. This includes collaborative arts projects, group art projects, window painting, live art demonstrations, virtual creative classes, and patient bedside activities.

Her work aims to address the isolation often felt by vulnerable adult populations, such as cancer patients, Veterans, and others living with serious chronic illnesses. When she’s not working with a patient on an art project, she invites them to help paint window murals in their hospital rooms. Doing so sparks a strange sense of wonder and curiosity that they never imagined was possible during a hospital stay.

In 2022, Hannah was named Benefit Honoree for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America’s annual gala fundraising event for her work helping to build their Improving Lives Through Art virtual fundraising series.