Haley Lancaster was born in 1991 in Toledo, Ohio. She currently works and lives in Austin, Texas. Haley is a self-taught artist and has been painting for 9 years as a means of therapeutic release, however this is the first year she embracing the path of an artist.
Tell us your story, why did you become an artist?
Creating is my only hope for sanity and I have an insatiable need to express my energy through creativity pursuits. For many years I didn’t allow myself to feel the spectrum of human emotions - painting was the first time I allowed myself to freely emote without judgment or restriction. Whenever I have a strong emotional reaction to a life situation my body wants to rush to the canvas and emote whatever is going on inside regardless of where this emotion stems from (pain, love, fear, joy, peace, etc).
When you create a new work, how do you go about it? What comes first?
When I arrive at the canvas I allow my subconscious to lead the way. For the past 12 months I’ve dedicated my life to a series titled “The Unwinding”. This series began in a dark place of uncertainty - after being laid off from my “dream job” at the beginning of the year - one which I gave every ounce of my being and light for I felt called to paint only in black and white. It wasn’t until mid April I realized I was unintentionally working on a series in which I was exploring my own coming to consciousness. At this moment I realized the black paint represented my lower vibrational frequency of emotions (shame, guilt, fear) and the white represented my higher vibrational frequency of emotions (love, peace, joy). From here I began exploring concepts that were critical to my own spiritual awakening - the product of this was 23 paintings and correlating poems in which I go from my own abyss to oneness.
What can you tell us about your studio, what makes it special to you and how does it influence the way you work?
My studio is in the home of one of my best friends here in Austin. Throughout this year my friend has traveled constantly so I’ve stayed at her place for weeks on end. It was during these times where I would do deep energetic work and enter into bursts of creativity where I’d continually explore new and different ways of creating. The house is crystal gridded thus providing a deep cellular level of healing. Having an entire home to act as a creative sanctuary allowed me the opportunity to enter into a deeper place within myself.
Is there a work of art in your life that has especially impressed you?
In 2017, soon after moving to NYC I went to the MoMA. It was there on the top floor I came across an exhibit showcasing various contrasting styles of art - each painting was exceptionally brilliant.. It wasn’t until the end that I realized all of the artwork belonged to a singular artist, Francis Picabia. Coming to this realization I went through the exhibit again. I was amazed at his openness to exploring vastly different modalities and his lack of care in adhering to one particular style. Looking at his work you could get an understanding of what was going on in his life on a deeper level even if the work didn’t seem to portray that.
Reach to the stars: where will you be in 5 years?
It’s hard to predict where life will take us - however I want to continue on this path of healing & creating. Each year I plan to dedicate myself to a series where I explore a topic of interest to me. My next series will start in March on my 33rd birthday - I plan to fuse elements of sacred geometry, mosaics, and collages as I dive deeper into the study of energy. Beyond this I want to have a book published, open an art studio that provides people with a safe place to freely emote and start a non-profit.
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