Bayou Artist | Hannah Eason

ARTICLE BY APRIL C. DOUGHTY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY MOORE CLARK

Driven by instinct and discipline, Hannah Eason is carving out her path as a rising artist unafraid to push boundaries. As she approaches graduation, her work and vision continue to reach beyond the canvas, inviting others to connect, reflect, and feel.

When it comes to being an artist, sometimes there’s a certainty that can’t be taught, and for Hannah Eason, that certainty has been there from the start. Originally from Arkansas, Eason spent most of her life in Bossier City and is now on the verge of completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Louisiana in Monroe (ULM). In her time at ULM, she’s built a practice rooted in ceramics but not confined by it. Though ceramics is her official concentration, she spends as much time painting as she does working with clay, often finding her herself drawn to three-dimensional shapes and pushing her two-dimensional work beyond the flatness of the canvas into something more tactile and more spatial. 

That same instinct to push boundaries carries into the way she approaches her life as an artist: with intensity, discipline, and an unshakable resolve. Despite the occasional pull of imposter syndrome, which plagues many young artists, Eason has never seriously considered another path. Balancing three part-time jobs alongside a demanding studio schedule has been grueling at times. In fact, Hannah said pulling multiple all-nighters a week is not uncommon for her, but following through on her dream of becoming a successful, professional artist is important to her. As a result, she meets the expectations set for her with a kind of relentless commitment. Now, as graduation approaches, she’s already looking ahead to a summer residency and solo exhibition at Courtyard on Cotton in West Monroe, and she’s stepping forward with the conviction of someone who knows there was never really another option.

As a child, Eason enjoyed coloring and drawing like most children but also found herself branching out and making collages out of paper and book covers and exploring different things on her own. From fifth grade throughout high school, Eason found a second home in gifted art classrooms. “I always had either a paintbrush or a pencil in my hand,” she said, “and have always been really hands-on with creating.” For Eason, art felt like second nature. “It’s always been the way that I’ve expressed myself,” she said. Because Eason considers herself an introvert, art has steadily provided a much needed avenue of expression beyond words.

Along the way, Eason’s papaw saw her talent and wanted to reward it. He commissioned an oil painting from her, a monarch butterfly, which was his favorite. It was Eason’s first oil painting and her first commission, but the experience was life-changing for her. “I will never forget the moment of giving that to him and just seeing the joy and the pride on his face,” she said. Watching him receive the painting and knowing she was responsible for the joy he felt was pivotal for Eason. “It made me realize the power that art could bring into the world,” she said. And in that moment, she knew she wanted to keep making things that could evoke emotional responses, and not just from her papaw.

With that reassurance, Eason was all in when it came to deciding what she wanted to do professionally. She never really entertained a profession outside of art and design. Although she considered fashion design, interior design, and graphic design, every path she deemed an option had creativity at its heart. Fortunately, once she started taking classes at ULM, it didn’t take long for her to find the path meant for her. During her first year, she took her first ceramics class as an elective and totally fell in love with it. She loved the hands-on creating and knew ceramics was the right concentration for her going forward. “And I’ve not looked back,” she said.

Along the way, Eason has found constant support from her family. Her parents have helped her through school, and she said she can always count on them. Her older brother, too, is a big fan, attending every pop-up, art crawl, and art show she’s participated in. “He’s always there,” she said. Eason is grateful to have the full and unwavering support of her family because, in the art world, the road to success is rarely easy. Although Eason is no stranger to hard work, having reliable encouragement when she needs it certainly helps.

During the development and discovery that undergraduate study entails, Eason has also depended heavily on the support and mentorship of her major professors. Assistant Professor Megan Smith and Professor Cliff Tresner have especially helped Eason hone her creative vision. From Eason’s perspective, Smith is an incredible person to brainstorm with and talk through an idea with, and Tresner is equally helpful, but in different ways. “Cliff definitely pushes me to be better and to try new things,” she said, “and he has a lot of experience with painting, so I’m honored to have him as a professor.” 

Eason recalled that during one of her first painting classes with Tresner, she returned to a still life she was working on after a short break and found a sticky note from him that read, “‘I encourage you to begin another!’” Eason said her initial reaction was anger. She was invested in her current painting and wanted to finish it, but she felt like the note was telling her to start over. It made her question the worth of her work. She reluctantly started another painting and only later learned that the message was actually intended to create time away from the first painting. She didn’t understand Tresner’s message at the time, but the experience taught her the importance of allowing space between paintings and taking time to just sit and allow new ideas to arise. She now has the note from Tresner framed in her studio as a reminder of his intended message. 

With her most recent work, Eason has enjoyed merging multiple media into her paintings and incorporating three-dimensional forms by warping the physical boundary of the frame. “I like to challenge the notion of a painting as a contained surface,” she said. Instead, she imagines her works in conversation with the space around them. Whether she’s painting or creating ceramics, exploring what she can do with different materials, how they can mesh together, and how she can push them to their limits has been a large part of discovering her voice as an artist.

Because Eason is still a young artist and just beginning to break into the gallery world, she admitted to wrestling with imposter syndrome at times, but her determination and confidence in who she is always steer her back on course. For Eason, the direction is always forward. “I just try, and I do what comes naturally to me,” she said, “which is to create, and I’ve followed that feeling. I work hard, and I create things that mean something to me.” In addition to perseverance, flexibility has proven to be a necessary ingredient to her success. “I welcome changes in my artistic process,” she said. “In fact, I hope my process continues to evolve and grow.” Eason’s approach is simple and straightforward, but it’s been rewarding so far. Her work has been available at Courtyard on Cotton in West Monroe, Louisiana, since July of 2025, and she’ll be completing a residency there this month through July on Mondays through Thursdays from 2 to 5 p.m. 

During that window on those days, visitors to the gallery are welcome to observe Eason in the midst of her creative process or ask questions. Throughout May, Eason will be working on pieces for her solo show ‘Reaching Through the Veil: Moments of Connection,’ which will open there on May 28th with a public reception during the June Art Crawl. Visitors throughout May can get a sneak peak of some of the works for the show. Eason said it’s always been her goal to surprise people, and she’s been successful in meeting that goal with pieces that were accepted to Courtyard’s ‘Surrealism’ show last year. One piece in particular, Wrapped, generated a lot of interest and comments from viewers who told Eason they’d never seen anything like it. 

With this upcoming show, Eason hopes to create more surprises for viewers. “At its core, this exhibition is an invitation,” she said. “The works reach outward, symbolically and physically, towards the viewer, asking them to consider how they themselves connect, withhold, reveal, and risk.” She hopes viewers will feel encouraged to reach back and imagines the show inspiring viewers “to resist isolation, embrace vulnerability, and remember that connection, though uncertain, begins with the courage to reach.” Through some immersive elements, Eason hopes the show will create a supportive space for viewers to connect both with the work itself and with each other. “I hope that anyone who walks in and sees my work feels encouraged to try something new,” she said, “and to feel less alone when they leave.”

Many of Eason’s paintings are figurative and many of her ceramics are sculptural. In either case, she finds herself inspired by elements of the Roman classical era, as well as the Baroque and Rococo art movements, which she loves. At the same time, her love of nature and the outdoors finds its way into her work. “The fun part for me,” she said, “is seeing how those two different elements mix together and creating a connection between them.” The result is work that combines ornate and natural elements with a sense of drama. For a piece to be successful in her eyes, Eason said it must blend these elements effectively while telling a story and also demonstrating an understanding of the fundamentals of design and the materials used. The story doesn’t have to be told in an obvious way, but knowing it’s there and being able to talk about it is important. 

Eason doesn’t expect everyone to like her work, but she hopes it brings out an emotional response, even if it’s not a positive one. Feelings can influence a person’s world view, give them insight, or even affect their decisions. Eason is conscious of this potential art has to effect change, and she doesn’t hold that power lightly. She hopes viewers will find her work to be a positive catalyst on multiple levels. “I hope people will feel encouraged,” she said, “encouraged to ask questions, encouraged to try something new, and encouraged to be curious.” hat desire to spark curiosity in others is closely tied to the way Eason approaches the creative process herself. “At the core of my practice lies a deeply personal impulse to understand and express what moves me,” she said. Eason approaches her work as an ongoing process, using it to sort through questions that sit just beneath the surface of daily life. “I would say creating for me is both an exploration and a quiet transformation, which gently reshapes my understanding of myself over time,” she said. That sense of growth carries through her practice, as she continues to use art as a way to challenge herself and invite others to do the same.

She is just as direct when she talks about the discipline it takes to keep going and to balance everything she has on her plate. As a full-time student with three part-time jobs, a lot of things compete for her attention, which can be intense. In this season, it’s taking a lot of determination to finish pieces. Still, Eason believes that her persistence is tied to something deeper. “If there is something you feel led to do, that feeling has been placed inside your soul for a reason,” she said. “Listen to it, and follow it.” Eason believes that when a person feels divinely inspired, they already have everything they need to act on it. They just need to put in the work and blessings will follow. For Eason, this belief shapes the way she approaches her work and her future. “I feel really encouraged to continue my journey, and I’m excited to see where it takes me,” she said. And as she continues forward, that sense of purpose extends beyond her own growth. She continues to be driven to create work that reaches others while encouraging them to reflect, to question, and to follow what calls them, too.