University of the Ozarks art student Elisabeth Hays will present her senior art exhibit, “The Inbetween,” from May 6-10, in the Stephens Gallery on campus.
There will be a reception to meet the artist from 6-7 p.m. on May 10 in the gallery, located in the Walton Fine Arts Center.
Hays, an art major from Van Buren, Ark., works in mixed media. She said the inspiration for her art stems from growing up in a small town and attending college at U of O.
“My world was a small bubble, surrounded by mostly family and friends living in a small town in Arkansas,” she said. “It was comfortable and familiar, but as I grew up, I naturally developed a desire for a world outside of my own. I dreamt of being independent, to see new places and meet people with different perspectives on life. That is what college has been for me. An alternate reality. I have always been hyper-aware that my experience here is temporary and this world I have created will soon end. This fact drove me to create these works to preserve this small universe as it is. It is the space in-between the person I have been and the person I will become.”
Hays said her paintings focus on table settings—close-up glimpses of her everyday life in college.
“These moments, captured in both paper collage and paint, are rendered with abstraction to reflect the distortion and dream-like quality that memory often holds,” she said. “My cyanotypes, created from pictures I’ve taken, further this exploration by merging the real and imagined—combining the tangible world of my college experience with my imagination. Through this work, I investigate the emotional spaces between memories: the subtle, in-between moments that linger and shape how we remember the past.”
Hays’ passion for art history has been enriched by her volunteer work at Arts On Main in Van Buren, where she recently served as a gallery assistant. She has actively sought opportunities within her community to engage her artistic skills, which includes judging the River Valley Student Art Competition in February 2024 and showcasing her work in the Collegiate Art Competition in March 2025.
Topics: Art