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I'm Martha; Artist,
Creativity Mentor and Photographer.​

​Consider me your multi-purpose artistic go-to, and greatest cheerleader.

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I teach busy, creative people how to express, structure and value their gifts -- by moving beyond creative blocks like perfectionism, overwhelm, imposter syndrome and procrastination, so they can learn to trust their creative intelligence to bravely, confidently share their (he)art in the world.​​

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I've always been creative, but struggled to unblock my own artistry.

I've always coloured outside the lines.

 

Known for my creativity, independence and imagination as a child, not much has changed. As a serial entrepreneur, I started my first business as a makeup artist in 2012, until a serious illness caused me to embark upon a profound spiritual journey that opened me to the world of yoga, solo travel, holistic health, cacao and natural healing.

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​With time, I recovered, grew as a person and trained in a thousand qualifications, but creativity kept calling me.

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So as my skills developed, I became a photographer, food blogger, web designer, content writer, copy-editor, ghost-writer, graphic designer and creative content executive. Digital creative skills were my comfort zone.​​

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But as I entered my 30s, I realised something was missing:​

...Me, and my unique creative expression.

Using my creativity only to benefit others means my inner artist couldn't breathe. Pneumonia on my 30th birthday woke me up to how unexpressed I felt. I didn't know how to begin unblocking, but I knew that I needed to start.
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I hired many mentors, read many books, joined communities, took training courses, ceremonies and slowly, gradually, eventually, began the brave journey back to my artistry. It took time, devotion, forgiveness, self-observation, compassion, the right tools, support system, courage and a whole lot of self-love.​

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My art continues to evolve into many forms that I cherish. I've performed spoken word poetry on stages, DJ'd in tropical locations, studied music production, macrame, collaging, deepened my photography, learned to paint, and co-authored a book, with my poetry, about dismantling the patriarchy.​

 

I learned, first-hand, the delicate nuances of freeing creativity;

 

The fears, doubts, imposter syndrome, and most unspoken -- attempting to create meaningful art in a world that doesn't seem to value it.

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I learned that we must change systems from the inside, by learning how to value ourselves.

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Valuing ourselves doesn't only mean receiving money.

 

It means putting your art first, making creativity a habit, finding the right communities and engaging in the routines and rituals that will shift your perspective from art as a hobby to devotion. 

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Today, my creativity connects me with supportive, aligned collaborators, expansive opportunities, a heartfelt community, the freedom of expression and a life that feels like mine.​

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Because creativity is not about what you produce.

It's a deep, inward, cyclical journey of self actualisation.

Now I help women to play bigger, and take up space with their creations.

And I help men develop a newfound relationship with their creativity from a rooted, gentler and embodied pace.​ ​​​​​

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​​From Dublin, Ireland but working internationally,​ my work blends practical, stragetic support with an artistic, holistic influence to transform your relationship to your creative expression.​

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Whether you need 1:1 creative mentoring, premium holistic photography or something that needs a community creating artist and mentor, I'm here.

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It is my passion and privilege, to use my first-hand life experience to guide others on the journey home to themselves, their creativity and their hearts.

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my starting point

It is my passion to encourage and inspire the self-love and growth of each person that I work with.​ I believe we each come equipped with unlimited potential waiting to be unlocked. Returning to our true nature - so that we may step into the person we came here to be - takes time, energy, dedication, perseverance, self-care, love and belief.

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Here are a few words of my own personal journey...

 

My own healing journey began in 2017, at the final straw.

 

Many years neglecting my own mental and physical health, surfing on the waves of avoidance and ignorance, lead me to an illness that I couldn't so simply recover from without getting to the root of my perpetual suffering.

During my teenage and early adult years, I disregarded myself by eating harmful processed foods, drinking alcohol and smoking to excess but most detrimentally; avoiding emotional issues I had buried inside.

 

Illness, in my formative years, became normalised as I took daily medication for digestive issues, migraines, hormonal imbalances and mental health problems before abruptly understanding - the hard way - that all of these separate symptoms were interlinked.

Tests, biopsies and hospitalisations failed to reveal the cause of my crisis decline in 2017, provoking a break-down of my mind and body which left me hospitalised, bedridden and void of vitality. Following the loss of my bodyweight, hair and menstrual cycle was the unfortunate loss of hope for life itself.

 

Ironically, it was in this hopelessness that I myself could finally be found.

 

I didn't break down, I broke through into both a psychosis and spiritual emergence.
 

I spontaneously awakened to the truth that my body, mind and soul were not mechanical systems working independently of another but interconnected, synergetic, holistic and wise.

 

Without my mask, I lay in my painful truth I had spent a lifetime avoiding.
So with nowhere else to turn, I went inside. 

Suddenly, I knew (without knowing how I knew) that only I had the power to heal myself. If a lifetime of suppression lead to such a severity of illness, then a new chapter of expression could lead to a future of wellness. I realized that I was not a victim of circumstance, but the conscious creator of my reality. It was time to take total responsibility for my health, my well-being, my relationships, my life, my future.

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I began to listen to my body's cues, aches and signals as intelligent messages from a place beyond my intellect. I began to compassionately acknowledge the depth - which I perceived as darkness - I had been holding for a lifetime. I began to nurture my sensitivity and recognize it as a tremendous, previously overlooked, strength.

By allowing myself to experience every flowing emotion, I learned that even the heaviest feelings are transient in nature; awakening me to our cyclical nature as human beings. By surrendering to inner pain, I unleashed the dawning power of peace. The years of suppression, repression and depression were simply the consequence of rejecting my nature as a human being; with my own inner seasonal shifts that rhythmically ebb and flow, too.

Layer by layer, I allowed myself to softly unravel within my own arms.
 
No longer afraid of truly knowing myself, I experienced the relief only known through grief, the birth only known through death; I learned what it meant to be truly alive.

Through adopting a holistic perspective, processing inner wounds and shifting to a natural lifestyle that nourished - not punished - myself, I laid the groundwork for an attitude of self love, forgiveness and compassion to flourish.
 
Over time and with a lot of hard work, my body, mind and spirit began to heal.

 

Little did I know that healing was only the beginning. Beyond the limitations I had placed upon myself existed an incredibly expansive person with tremendous strength, resilience, wisdom and passion for the world.

The road hasn't been easy. It has been earth shatteringly exhausting, at times infuriatingly isolating, but always breathtakingly beautiful and rewarding beyond measure. 

 

Today I understand that we are each holistic beings; part of a whole integrative system, interconnected with one another and the natural world. Through embracing each aspect of ourselves - the light and the dark - we can each find the fundamental inner strength to heal, grow and expand into who we really came here to be.

 

My first-hand experience of personal transformation enables me to connect with others who wish to awaken to their own power and potential.

Loving ourselves, each-other and the world becomes a 'thank you' to our ancestors for passing down this gift of life. placing us in this sacred, mysterious existence.

I believe we each have the ability to transmute our suffering into serenity, pain into peace and experience into evolution. I am grateful, now, for everything that has happened in my life as each triumph, trauma and tragedy was, although unbeknown at the time, 

a gateway
 
to myself.

 

Thanks to some of my greatest personal mentors and collaborators; whom I had the opportunity not only to study extensively under, but to support most of them in their thriving businesses. I wouldn't be who I am, without your guidance, care and support.

 

  • Tara Mohr

  • Naomi Huth

  • Erin Claire Jones

  • Amie McNee

  • Aisling Fox O' Kelly

  • Keith Wilson

  • Paula Gibson

  • Mari Kennedy

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"The best way to pay back a mentor is to pass it on."

With love,
Martha Trudi Ryan

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