We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Madison Haws. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Madison below.

Madison , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I would say I can’t imagine not being an artist. It’s in my blood. For income, I’ve worked in coffee for 11 or 12 years , I’ve began selling my work at markets and I’m finally diving into teaching, which I absolutely love. I’ve wondered about working a desk job (like a 9-5) it doesn’t compute though.
I’ve always tried to work jobs that gave me flexibility. I’ve been behind the counter at a cafe looking at customers who work office jobs. I do wonder if it would make my life easier. Sure I would love the stability, benefits, and income that a “regular job” would give- that’s partially why I’ve began teaching. But teaching, like coffee, and art are endeavors that require creative problem solving and connection. With these jobs I can feed my art and myself. I get the opportunities to engage with students while teaching, neighbors while making coffee, and people who excitedly find my work at a market relating to a piece. At the end of the day I think there’s always a “grass is greener on the other side” thing happening. I just simply know that I would be unhappy if I were to pursue a career that didn’t fuel my art.

Madison , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Well, originally I am from Iowa. More recently I am from Seattle and I am currently based in Brooklyn, NY. I went to college studying oil painting and drawing although I learned many more mediums while I was there. I attended grad school at New York Academy of Art where I had planned to study painting but found figurative sculpture caught my attention. I ended up getting a concentration in anatomy while in grad school which feeds into my work and is a passion of mine.

I have always been pursuing art for as long as I can remember. I studied it in school. If a new medium caught my eye I taught myself whether it was upholstery, macrame, slip casting, etc. Currently I find myself consumed by ceramics.

My current body of work is focusing on integrating the human form into functional ceramic work. I think of making these vessels, meaning bowls or cups, vases, plates, really any home object that “holds” something like how people are vessels who hold things. Hold like we hold emotions, objects, people, things, ideas, you name it. I think its an interesting way to bring beauty and function into the home while also narrating an idea of intimacy and what that looks like. The figures are fragmented like ideas, hands that you hold while sipping on a cup. Or stacking plates that tell the story of lovers by how they stack.
As I build and explore this body of work I hope to make molds so I can slip cast these pieces. I want the work to be as accessible as possible to people. It serves a functional purpose but also adds beauty to the home.

I would say that this body of work is my best idea. I love seeing how it grows and evolves. I want to make a whole room one day filled with these items that all can be used to hold the things in our lives that we want to put down.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is making something that someone resonates with without you explaining it or saying anything. Words don’t always get across what I want to say as a visual artist so having that connection with someone through my work feels wonderful.
My favorite example is when someone picks up a piece and understands how intimate it is to hold the cup’s hand while sipping on their drink. It’s a special moment. I do enjoy explaining the word and seeing the gears turn in someone’s head as they connect the dots and register what it means to them now knowing what I’m saying or trying to communicate.

But also teaching students and inspiring or guiding them to make the work they want to make is extremely rewarding as well. It’s extra fun when they see my work and it gets them excited to make their own.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Something I’ve had to unlearn is the idea of relevancy. I learned in undergrad and even in grad school that once a work is 2 years old it is no longer relevant to your portfolio. Which is a fallacy. Your work is always relevant to you and it may be new to someone else. Just because it’s been in your studio for 2+ years doesn’t mean it’s lost value or isn’t able to be shown. Especially in sculpture and in ceramics as I build this body of work. Everything is a building block to the next thing but those building blocks can always be shown because you’ll never know who will see it or resonate with it.

I just participated in a teaching residency where their was a show of all the teacher’s works. I had a piece from 4 years ago alongside a work from last year and this year and they all related to each other. Students loved the old piece as much as the new ones and had no idea I made it in 2021.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mrhaws

Image Credits

Madison Haws, Leander Letizia