We had the good fortune of connecting with Madison Haws and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Madison, why did you pursue a creative career?

Honestly, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I was always drawing with my grandmother at a very young age. Around 3rd grade or so I discovered sculpy clay, the kind you bake in the oven to make it cure, and I would sculpt tiny eggs wondering when they would hatch into a little dragons. Or I’d recreate my favorite Pokémon or other video game characters I wished were real.

Also I think that combined with my mother doing hair, which always felt creative and my dad who has held so many different jobs he could run his own career fair. That probably lead me to believe that desk jobs aren’t in my blood.


Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Yeah, thank you. I make sculptures to escape from the mundane world and I invite others to join me on that journey outside the ordinary. The pieces I create are made mostly of a variety of clays such as ceramic, polymer or paper clays. At times I integrate other materials, for example, fabric, yarn or wire. I also use found objects like coffee grounds and loose leaf tea to old fuses or keys. The colors and aesthetic of my work are influenced by the media I consume, which is anything from music to films, comic books to videogames and even folklore. I use contemporary clothing or accessories alongside naturalistic flora and fauna, my pieces find themselves in a particular place and time. My intention is to ground the viewer in a specific setting, but then for the viewer to begin to pick up on elements that lead to a sense of disquietude. The viewer feels a familiarity in the work, but due to the strangeness of the piece, they pause. That pause is the place I want people to keep coming back to.

I am most excited about where I am going with my work. Up until recently I found myself working at cafes or just distracted by random things. The pandemic hadn’t helped, but I was able to use the free time that I had gotten during the lockdowns to explore new media and even hobbies. Now I finally feel like I have a chance to focus purely on my work.

Well, in terms of how I got to where I am in my career- I wouldn’t say it’s been easy, and I still feel like I’m on a journey. When I think about all that I have done up until now- I had an extensive undergraduate program covering multiple mediums, and anatomy. I began at Iowa State University leading to a Bachelors in Integrated Studio Arts focusing on Painting in 2015. Then I decided to pursue my Master’s degree at the New York Academy of Art where I concentrated on Sculpture and Anatomy in 2019. I have had the opportunity to assist sculptors, studied abroad, was a curatorial intern, and those are just some of the highlights. I’ve also had to be on food stamps, lost everything to a fire, and struggled with typical living expenses- as one does when living in cities and moving around all the while buying art supplies.

All that is to say I had no idea where I would find myself or how my journey would play out when I decided to pursue art. To be honest, I didn’t want to go to Iowa State. Yet upon reaching graduate school, I found that I had had a well rounded foundation in techniques that some of my peers didn’t have and they went to the schools I had dreamed of going to. So when life hands you lemons? Make lemonade? Lol. I actually am not a fan of that phrase, more like- Just keep moving forward until something stops you.

I want the world to know that there is always a season. A professor in undergrad once told me that sometimes you’ll be able to pump work out like crazy and ideas will flow and everything in your studio will feel in sync. And then there are times where that won’t be the case, maybe you’ll get stuck. Or maybe you’ll find yourself just needing to process. No matter where someone might find themselves, it’ll pass and they’ll get through it. It’s a phrase I remind myself of often.


Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I found this to be the hardest question! I guess that means that I’ve found a lot of things and places I enjoy in Seattle. Well, I’d definitely start with doughnuts. There are so many great doughnut places in Seattle right now. Good Day Doughnuts or Dough Joy are both so good. Good Day Doughnuts is a great classic doughnut spot and Dough Joy is a vegan doughnut food truck with unique and quirky flavors. Obviously being in Seattle you have to try the coffee. A few different spots I enjoy are Milstead & Co, Hagen Coffee Roasters, Herkimer Coffee, Fremont Coffee Company, but honestly, most cafes in Seattle will have good coffee.

I find the heart of Seattle to be outside of the main downtown area and in the neighborhoods. So I like to take people around to my favorite areas like Ballard, which has a cool fishing town kind of vibe with local shops and good food. Golden Gardens, a park near Ballard that faces the Olympic Mountains and if you can get a fire pit on the beach it’s a great spot at sunset. Capitol Hill is another neighborhood in Seattle which is fun to take people around. It’s probably the most “happening” one with bars, brunch spots and some galleries. There’s also Pike Place Market which is a must for anyone who hasn’t been to Seattle before. It’s the biggest Farmers Market in Seattle as well as the most famous. Fremont is a laid-back neighborhood with a giant troll under highway 99. There are lots of hidden spots around Fremont like Hannyatou. Hannyatou is a great sake bar with amazing and original appetizers. Probably one of my current favorite spots in the city.

As far as filling meals it really depends on the area you’re in in the city. I know a place I love taking people is Watson’s Counter. It’s Korean-American fusion and they have fruity pebble French toast, but I go for the Fried Chicken Sandwich topped with house made kimchi. But that’s the great thing about showing people around in Seattle because I usually take them to a neighborhood and from there I can show them my favorite cafes, parks, shops, or just spots. I guess I didn’t really give you an itinerary but hopefully you can imagine how a trip might go!


Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d have to say my Grandma Scott. When I was little, l would draw with my grandmother every chance I had. She was a self-taught portrait artist and the most amazing draughtswoman I could imagine. Whenever she would come over to babysit me, we would draw. She introduced me to Brian Froud and Alan Lee’s illustrations by giving me a book called Faeries, which completely captivated me from a young age. My grandmother also gave me “Artistic Anatomy” books. Which I would religiously reference when trying to draw people in middle school. Another shout out might be to my dad, he would rent Studio Ghibli films, cult classic animes, Jim Henson movies without even knowing how cool and weirdly amazing they would be. I remember asking him why he rented the movies he did, and it was because of their covers! Looking back at it, these films have had a deep creative impact on me.

Website: madisonhaws.com

Instagram: @mrhaws

Image Credits
All the images except the purple hooded man with yellow glasses, and the purple/pink horizontal face were taken by Edison Moody, @edison.moody on instagram

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.