Meet the Artists

Delia Lochala is an artist from Columbus, Mississippi, and

works predominantly with oil on canvas. She is a self-taught artist

who began expressing her talent for drawing at a very young age.

Delia began oil painting in April of 2022; before that, she mainly

created watercolor illustrations. Some of her artistic influences are

the works of Barbara Kroll and Egon Schiele. However, her work

is mainly influenced by a wide range of music, from folk to grunge.

Her work has been shown at the Black Prairie Blues

museum in West Point, Mississippi, for the Women in Blues

exhibition and the Student Women’s Art Exhibit, at J Broussard’s

in Columbus for their Art in the Restaurant series, and at the Van

Der Plas Gallery in Manhattan, NYC. In September 2023 she

showed works in the Columbus Arts Council’s Artists’ Alley, where

she also created a live painting during the opening reception.

Delia is always eager to show her work, so she takes part in the

annual Downtown Art Walk in Columbus and the Under the Oaks

art festival on the campus of MUW. Her paintings have been sold

locally and as far as Brooklyn, New York.

Delia is a young artist--only twenty years old--and is proud to

show her work and hopefully inspire other young artists. She

earned an Associate's Degree from EMCC where she grew under

the instruction of local artist Cindy Buob. Delia is excited to have

begun her journey in the art department at Mississippi University

for Women this fall where she looks forward to growing more and

working in different concentration areas and mediums.

Hailey Hardy is a mixed media artist based in Philadelphia, Mississippi, whose work explores

surrealist portraiture through bold materials, layered textures, and emotionally charged

compositions. She combines emotion and fantasy in her pieces, using art as a personal tool to

explore ideas and process emotions. Hailey earned an Associate of Arts from East Central

Community College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Mississippi University for Women, where

she exhibited in the university’s senior show. Her work is heavily influenced by artists such as

Alo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Martin Whatson—figures known for expressive form,

unconventional technique, and emotional depth. Currently, Hailey focuses on portraits painted on

wood and paper, using color and background elements that reflect what she intuitively feels fits

each character. While she acknowledges her subject matter may appear simple on the surface,

she distinguishes her practice through her unique choice of materials and how she uses them to

create layered, meaningful visuals. Though she has not collaborated with other artists yet, Hailey

continues to evolve her style independently, grounded in experimentation, emotional storytelling,

and a desire to express inner landscapes through her art.