Ua Hayes is an interdisciplinary artist based in Washington DC. Hayes has practiced wheel-thrown pottery for over a decade and is currently a Community Artist at District Clay Center. She recently completed a 4-week pottery residency in Icheon, South Korea, where she studied Korean techniques under ceramic master Kwak Kyung-tae.

Ua draws inspiration from 1970s furniture design—embracing rounded silhouettes and vibrant colors that blend retro and futuristic aesthetics. She is driven to create works that must be experienced fully, not merely observed. Her work reflects influences from artists like Theaster Gates, Yayoi Kusama, and Pippin Drysdale.

Her 2025 solo exhibition "Where The Light Shines Through" presented a vision: imperfection and beauty—a room she invited viewers to enter, to observe an immersive display of table lamps made by the artist. These ceramic experiments, made in irregular shapes, colorful and moody, encouraged onlookers to give grace to the misshapen and even find its charm. Inspired by baroque pearls, the asymmetrical forms incorporated various surface techniques–from airbrushed color gradients to Korean Buncheong and Japanese Raku.