Laurel Hausler's solo exhibit opens tonight at the Nevin Kelly Gallery.

We spoke with artist Laurel Hausler last February for a studio visit, and tonight, her solo exhibit, A History of Dogs and Witches, opens at the Nevin Kelly Gallery. We met up with the painter again this week to find out what she's been working on, and to give you a preview of the show.

It's been several months since I saw your work for a studio visit. How did your summer exhibits go?

All of my exhibits went really well, thank you. But it's all a blur, really. I was under constant deadline the entire Spring and Summer. Which is great! But it doesn't leave much time to lollygag. I'm looking forward to spending time in the studio without having an end date in mind.

I know the feeling. Last time we met, you were working out of your grandmother's house in Fairfax. I noticed on the Nevin Kelly site that you have moved into a new studio in the old Lorton prison. That seems like a perfect fit, given your fascination with ghosts, witches and all things spooky. How has the space been transformed?

The transformation is so vast it's impossible to describe briefly. That said, it's a beautiful space. The people at the Workhouse have worked very hard to make a space tailored to an artist's needs. They were nice enough to let me use a studio specifically for the creation of this show.

Does it feel creepy to be working in a former prison? Have you seen or heard any ghosts there?

Of course that was my first question. I have heard a rumor that it is haunted but I've not seen anything yet. I would be a little scared to be there by myself at night. But as to the overall creepiness, that's part of the wonder of the transformation. It really has entirely different feel from the old prison—an open, creative vibe.

I'll have to check it out. In other news, your solo show is opening tonight at Nevin Kelly. Can you describe the work that you will have on display for this exhibit? Will you be exhibiting some of the pieces you were working on during our past studio visit, or do you have all new tricks up your sleeve?

There may be one or two older side pieces, but the majority of the work was created for this show. I wasn't trying to come up with anything Halloweenish, but I felt very inspired by Roald Dahl's book, The Witches, and Quentin Blake's illustration of the story. While I didn't want to replicate the work, I was really feeling that type of witchiness. Dahl has a whole list of how you can tell a witch: She has blue spit, square toes...they're always scratching their heads because they wear wigs. And they DESPISE children. These witches are pretty chic; they've got kind of a chic 1940s/50s style. Yet there is a little something amiss...

As to the style of the work, I worked in a lot of different media—sculpture, acrylic, photography—and there is even a Poltergeist Dollhouse. The paintings came out in a very illustrative style—lots of crosshatching, which I've used in small drawings, but not really in paintings before this. It was great fun to work on, and I think it'll change the way I work on a large scale.

Laurel Hausler's The Moors courtesy of the artist.

You also mentioned that you will be holding a fundraising benefit for the Washington Animal Rescue League on Saturday as part of the exhibit. Can you tell me a little more about this event, and why you chose WARL?

Sure. Well, I haven't had much time to volunteer because I have been so busy with all these deadlines, so this is my way of contributing. Ten percent of my sales from the entire month will go to Miriam's Kitchen except for the WARL fundraiser, during which ten percent of sales and the door money will go to the Rescue League. I think both of these are wonderful organizations. And, I wish I could adopt 100 dogs and cats.

The fundraiser should be really fun; I even made a special witch CD. A party with a good purpose.

Are you planning on wearing a costume to the event?

I will be wearing a costume. It's a surprise. OK, it's not; I will be a pink rabbit.

Nice! I think I remember that costume from one of your paintings. Thanks for talking with us again, Laurel, and good luck with the exhibit.

Laurel Hausler's solo exhibit A History of Dogs and Witches will be at Nevin Kelly Gallery from October 15 through November 19. The opening reception is tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. This Saturday, join the artist for a WARL benefit event at the gallery from 3 to 6 p.m.