Pressed Into Being: Mickey Hess ’25 on Transforming Hardship into Art

Fine Art alumna and artist–in–residence talks process, resilience and craft

A single flower, carved and printed in layer after layer of color, doesn’t just capture what a bloom looks like — it can capture what it feels like to survive something.

“When you stand back, it’s just a pretty flower,” says Mickey Hess. “But when you get up close, you see all the marks and scars – the things that build who you are.”

That’s the idea behind Pressed Into Being, a new exhibition of reduction linocut prints by PCA&D Fine Art alumna Mickey Hess, on view in the College’s Main Gallery through September 13, 2026, with a public reception September 4 from 5–8 p.m.

Each piece began as a way for Hess to process a life-altering accident that ended her nursing career — and grew, over a year as PCA&D’s Fine Art Artist in Residence, into a body of work about resilience, memory and what it means to keep growing after loss.

We talked with Mickey about her process, her PCA&D experience and what she hopes others take from her story.

Your exhibition, Pressed Into Being, is described as exploring what remains after hardship and what continues to grow. Tell us the story behind that idea.

I was a registered nurse for years, and I was in a car accident on the job — I was rear — ended while traveling for continuing education. That took me out of commission for a couple of years. I couldn’t go back to nursing because my head had been bumped around pretty hard, and nobody wants a nurse who can’t remember things. I lost my identity — my whole life had been nursing. While I was in therapy, I started working back into art, and it really helped me emotionally. I rediscovered something I’d always had but had lost since before I got married and had kids.

Once I realized I couldn’t go back to nursing, it felt like a natural next step to take the credits I already had and finish my degree in art instead. It was exactly what I needed at the time.

Where Petals Break and Rising Through by Mickey Hess

PCA&D wasn’t new to you when you came back. You’d actually first enrolled decades earlier. What was it like returning?

I originally started school there when I graduated high school in ’89. PCA&D had only been downtown for a year or so at that point — they’d just moved from York. At that time, it wasn’t a college; you got a diploma, not a BFA. It wasn’t what it is today, for sure. There’s a huge difference now — it’s bigger, and they offer so many more programs.

Coming back this time was a challenge in its own way, too — I had memory issues, and going back to school during everything I was dealing with was hard at first, from learning new technology to Photoshop to just being one of the older students in the room. But it was exactly the right move for me. I made great friends — the students are great, and having that connection with them, it’s almost like they’re your kids.

Tell us about your process. Why linocut printmaking, and why flowers?

Printmaking was something I always loved, even in high school and when I was first in art school, so coming back to it felt natural. My first class back was Printmaking II, and that’s where I started — not intentionally at first, just working through a class project. But I found that because of all the anxiety and energy I had — I’m a nervous person since the accident — carving let me slow down. As you carve, you have to think through each color, work from light to dark and think about what each layer means. You carve away, and you can’t go back.

I use flowers because they’re symbols of everything — life, death, renewal, love, friendship. And with the close-ups — the way I couldn’t see clearly before, when I had to zoom in on everything just to see it — the lines and detail in the flowers are almost representative of how I saw the world after the accident. Looking at them is like seeing flowers through my eyes during the time I couldn’t see well. I don’t really consider myself a portrait artist, but these flowers are really my self–portraits.

What do you hope people feel standing in the gallery with your work?

I hope they see something beautiful in something that can be chaotic and crazy. All those lines, marks and layers are a lot of things, but when you stand back, it’s just a pretty flower. When you get up close, you see all the marks and scars — the things that build who you are. Then you step back and see the bigger picture. It’s kind of like life.

Is there anything printmaking lets you say that you couldn’t put into words?

All my feelings. Communication has always been something I’ve worked on, especially the last couple of years in therapy. Having something up there that represents me without talking was great.

What was it like coming back to PCA&D this year as the Fine Art Artist in Residence?

For me, it was like continuing school without all the old school stuff. It was nice to be able to keep doing the work I’d started — all my work is printmaking, and I don’t have a big press at home. Being able to keep using the presses after I graduated was huge. During the residency, I was able to take everything I’d learned and turn it into finished pieces of work, rather than just process. Before, it was mostly about getting the raw emotion and energy out — you can see that anxiety and tension in my earlier prints. The residency let me build on that.

I had a studio space they made for me, and I could come in whenever there weren’t classes in the print room — evenings, weekends, whenever. Everyone was so friendly and there to help if I needed them.

What’s next for you?

Having this show has been a dream come true — one of my life goals was to have my own solo exhibition, and I can check that off. At the same time, I have a show at Hood College’s Whitaker Gallery in Frederick, Maryland. I am also exhibiting at the 52nd Annual Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show and Long’s Park Art Festival this year. Getting into Long’s Park was another dream of mine — I also did that last year. Mount Gretna is a big deal, too. It feels like everything is finally coming together.

What would you tell prospective or current PCA&D students — especially adults considering going back for their BFA?

Definitely do it. It’s a challenge going back if you’ve been away for a while, but it’s worth it. It’s fun getting to know the students and share in their creativity, and I got to give them advice here and there, too. It was an excellent experience, and I’d recommend it to anybody.

What do you love about PCA&D and its community?

The instructors are what make the school. My professors — I can’t say enough about them. They make you want to stay. It feels like home. When I came back, it was so familiar, in a good way. The faculty are wonderful — so supportive, so understanding.

I’m so much happier now than I was a year ago. I can tell you that.

Pressed Into Being runs July 17 – September 13, 2026, in PCA&D’s Main Gallery, 204 N. Prince St., Lancaster, with a public First Friday reception on September 4, 5–8 p.m.