Lissa Rankin, Founder of Owning Pink
Meet Lissa Rankin, an artist, writer, gynecologist, mother, and all around bundle of positive energy. I met Lissa on Twitter, and once I read her brief bio I knew that I had to feature her in this column.
Lissa has made it her mission in life to help others get their mojo back, and particularly to empower women to do whatever and be whoever they want to be. To foster this mission, she created the company Owning Pink, a place where women can connect and support one another in their pursuits. Owning Pink offers classes, workshops, and mentoring to further these connections.
A courageous, empathic, inspirational role model, Lissa is exactly the kind of person this world needs more of.
Christa - Was there a specific experience or set of experiences that led you to found Owning Pink?
Lissa - The original manifestation of Owning Pink was born on my 35th birthday. A girlfriend of mine was seven months pregnant with a little girl, and her husband patted her belly and said, “My little girl is NEVER going to wear pink. Red, green, blue, purple- she’s going to be a feminist. She could be President.”
So there I was, dressed head to toe in PINK, and I said, “You tell your daughter she just has to OWN pink.” It spawned a whole series of art, which over the years evolved into a website and series of workshops committed to helping people get their mojo back and own their authentic self.
Because of my varied skills- medicine, art, writing- I yearned for a way to express a way to bring it all together. Just as we all crave wholeness and the ability to express all the facets that make us complete, I wanted to discover a way to combine my skills and encourage others to do the same.
Christa - You are set to have Encaustic: A Guide to Creating Fine Art With Wax published in 2010. What led you to create this book about this topic?
Lissa - I have been painting professionally and exhibiting my art since 2001, and my primary medium is encaustic, painting with pigmented beeswax. Although this medium has been around since ancient Greece, I learned everything the hard way. Once I mastered the technique, I was inspired to write a book so we didn’t all have to reinvent the wheel. I interviewed 70 artist who also work with wax and compiled a technical manual to guide artists through the luminous process.
Christa - You've been able to link a lot of your varied interests - medicine, art, writing, entrepreneurship - together to build a rich and satisfying life. A lot of women put themselves in a box, or allow others to do so, and sometimes feel as if they can't explore something entirely new because it's so different from what they've done in the past. What advice would you have for women on building a life full of varied interests?
Lissa - I met a lovely woman who said, “I’m 29- I’m supposed to BE something by now.” What she meant is that she should be able to define herself with one word, but we are all many things. I call it Owning Your Slashes - as in doctor/artist/writer/mother/daughter/hiker/friend, etc. We all have many slashes, and yet no one identity defines us.
For a long time, I felt like I had to wear many hats. When I wore my doctor hat, I put on my white coat, got up on my pedestal, and talked down to people, because that’s what I was trained to do- be professional. In my artist hat, I was expected to be dark and brooding and mysterious. As a mother, I thought I was supposed to stop cussing, dress more conservatively, and act like a mother. But about two years ago, I decided to release all those limitations put on me by myself and others. My new goal was to be ALL LISSA, ALL THE TIME!
I believe that the more we bring all of ourselves to all facets of our lives, the more whole we are, and as a result, the more we succeed. I would encourage others to really own their slashes, to embrace all aspects of their wholeness, and to think creatively about how to get out of the box and just be YOU.
Send your inner critic to time out, release the fear that accompanies trying something new, and surrender to God’s plan for your life. When you let go of trying to control everything, it’s amazing how the doors start to open.
For me, it took leaving medicine for two years to heal from a series of events I call my Perfect Storm. Doing so was like jumping off a cliff, I tell people I landed in the “lavender-scented river” and have felt like I’m in the flow ever since. The more I quit trying to swim upstream and simply go with the current, the easier my life becomes. I would encourage others to do the same. Set the intention for how you want your life to be, then trust the Universe, get out of your own way, and watch magic happen.
Christa - I am blown away by The Woman Inside Project. It's such a sensitive topic and you approach it with such grace and dignity. Where did the idea come from? Did you have a specific long-term vision in mind for the project? How did you approach your first few models and ask them to participate? What was their initial response?
Lissa - I conceived The Woman Inside Project when I was pregnant with my daughter and I had to tell a pregnant woman she had breast cancer. A friend had recently sent me a belly casting kit, to cast my pregnant belly with plaster. The belly cast was already on my mind when I had to tell this woman she needed a mastectomy. I was inspired to cast her - still pregnant - before her surgery.
After that, I approached other patients of mine about participating in this art project. They came to my home, where I would spend about an hour doing the casting. Then when I was done, I would show them the cast and say, “This is what the world sees of you. Now tell me about the rest of you.” And they would all tell me the most amazing stories about the beauty that is within each of them. And each of these women is SO beautiful!
Everyone was remarkably agreeable when I asked them to participate. Initially, they were all patients who knew me, but then I started getting referrals from others. They tell me the process is very healing, to be touched, to be heard, to be part of something bigger that’s about empowering women and honoring their beauty. The project goes on tour, opening at Commonweal in Bolinas, CA, before traveling to Houston, the DC area, and Boston.
Christa - If you could encourage women all over the world to do one thing, what would that be?
Lissa - I would encourage women to Own Pink. To Own Pink is to live an authentic life, to take care of your body, to surrender to a spiritual power, to love unconditionally, to embrace others, and to be true to who you really are. I know that’s more than one thing. If I had to limit it to one, it would be that I believe it’s impossible to put too much love into the world. Love boundlessly.
For more info: To learn more about Owning Pink, click here.
To join Lissa's Pink Posse, click here.
For more about how Owning Pink was born, click here.
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