Interview with Katie Bonadies, July 2021
Haley joined Running With Scissors this May. She is most comfortable working in paints of all kinds, especially acrylic and watercolor, and has lately been into clay and sculpting.
Haley studied public health, even though she really wanted to study art. She started along her artistic path in 2016 when she was laid off from a nonprofit working for abortion access. Even though she was passionate about the field, she wasn’t working toward her passions in a way that felt authentic. It was during her travels through Asia that Haley started painting murals for money and in exchange for food and board when she realized this is how she wants to live her life.
Haley paints things that she experiences and things that hold meaning for her. Often, this materializes as a reaction to societal pressure where living as an artist isn’t considered a valid life choice and in response to the challenges of living in what would be perceived as a female form. For her authenticity is introspective, so when she is creating, she only thinks about what her truth is and invites the viewer to perceive their own truth.
She strives to be, what she calls, “...a conduit for source energy. Representational art is, by nature, not going to be from the source. The moment you start thinking about how something looks instead of what it intuitively feels like you lose your higher power connection....” Lately Haley is feeling called to make large abstract expressionist pieces inspired by Hilma af Klint and contemporary artist Adriane Nieves. Her pallet knife is her favorite tool--she uses it for painting, mixing, and clay--because its versatility and imprecise nature requires inherent abstraction, a letting go of a sense of rightness.
You can connect with Haley at First Fridays on Congress Street or email her at haleylinnet@gmail.com. To view more examples of her work or to read her Vulva Art mission statement, visit her website and follow her on Instagram @haleylinnetart.
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