1963–

An artist known for using unusual and non-traditional materials, Holly Laws took a sabbatical from teaching at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway in 2016 and created the sculptures later selected for the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ Women to Watch: Heavy Metal exhibition. The entire body of work, Bellwether, was exhibited at UCA’s Baum Gallery in 2017.

Matthew Smith, guest curator for the Arkansas Committee of NMWA, saw the show and chose three of Laws’ sculptures for the Committee’s Heavy Metal state tour. Her work was exhibited alongside three other talented Arkansas artists — Michele Cottler-Fox, Amanda Heinbockel (Naus) and Robyn Horn.

“When Virginia Treanor, associate curator at NMWA, selected two of my pieces for the national exhibition in Washington, D.C., I was ecstatic,” said Laws. “I knew the exhibit was looking for pieces that contain metal. I work with a lot of different materials, but I don’t usually work with metal. I didn’t think I would be selected, so it was a wonderful surprise.”

With the Women to Watch exhibition scheduled to open at the national museum in the summer of 2018, Laws traveled with her pieces to D.C., where she attended the opening reception to see her work on display.

“It was impossible for me to miss the debut of my work at NMWA,” said Laws. “From the moment I arrived, I was struck by the grandeur of the architecture and impressed by the galleries and the high caliber of the permanent collection. Exhibiting my work alongside fellow artists at such a prestigious institution was both an honor and a genuinely uplifting experience.”

Laws moved to Arkansas in 2008 for a teaching position at UCA and says teaching 3D Design for Art Foundations and Contemporary Media helps keep her current in the art world but makes finding time to make art a challenge.

“Being an artist is the foundation of both my personal and professional life, and I’ve always linked my identity to my art,” she said. “Exhibiting at such a renowned institution was a tremendous step forward in recognition for my work. Having art organizations, curators and museums recognize my art as exceptional provided the affirmation I needed during a challenging time in my career.”

Laws said she believes that some of the strangest materials ultimately make the best art. She has worked with royal icing, caulking and even roofing tar in the past. Part of the excitement of using a new material, she says, is the research into the material and the process of learning how it can be shaped, formed and made into something new.

“There is no hierarchy in my choice of materials or techniques — I use what works best for the subject or idea,” she said. “I am constantly researching and experimenting with new ways and means of making. I use an ever-changing lineup of materials and methods, some odd or antiquated, others decidedly non-fine art and borrowed from different domains. Regardless of the materials, my processes tend to be time-intensive, reflecting a respectful nod to the labor historically associated with women’s work.

“Since exhibiting in Women to Watch: Heavy Metal, my art has matured, growing more multifaceted and nuanced as I weave together new materials, techniques and life experiences,” she said. “My studio time remains precious — an essential space where I can devote myself fully to my craft. I am committed to placing my art in front of diverse audiences for as long as I am able, striving to add to the collective conversation through my work and my participation in the larger art community.”

Laws said she is currently captivated by early AI-generated images of women — artifacts that, though only a few years old, feel light years behind today’s technology.

“The exponential pace at which AI capabilities advance is awe-inspiring and unsettling,” she said. “The stitched-together portraits, harvested from countless bits of internet data, provide a mirror for how women are perceived in society, as constructed from the versions that we ourselves and others project onto the web.

“At the same time, I am also drawn to knots — elegant forms that energize space and offer a rich, intricate metaphorical language,” she said. “Through laborious techniques, I am exploring knots as a symbolic means for establishing structure and making order out of chaos. Whereas AI-generated portraits are entirely of our moment, the knot is a universal form that has existed for millennia, yet both speak to the question of what it means to be human, illuminating our ongoing story of identity, creation and connection.”