Who We Are
EricHolloway.Art is a tiny-home art studio tucked in the forests of the Kootenays. Eric the artist and technician and Katelyn the muse and digital content creator; together aspire to craft a livelihood which is sustainable and beautiful. Eric’s art plays with themes of nature, sacred geometry, balance and contrast.
Creator
Eric is an artist, photographer, inventor, and craftsman. He started EricHolloway.Art with a passion for wood-working and technology and seeing the way the two can come together in art and functional aesthetics. Although he has called the Kootenays home since 2007, his early experiences of growing up near the Rockies are close to his heart. Eric learned lots about orienteering, wilderness survival, and more importantly observation and appreciation of nature. Eric has lots of memories of hiking wooded trails, cresting mountain summits, breathing cool mountain air, and sitting beside glacier fed lakes. These are the moments and memories which continue to call him out to the woods to forage, photograph, and explore. The natural world is full of commanding magnificence and intriguing detail and Eric’s designs are an homage to that experience.
Artist
Eric’s artist portfolio covers many styles. Having worked in print, graphic design, metal-working, wood-working, trophy design, and construction he learned the varying qualities and limits of materials and how to adjust designs accordingly. Wood is a material that Eric really enjoys working with, it is moldable and yet strong, it can be sanded, buffed, and oiled to a fine sheen, and it can be lightweight and yet retain its strength. Another material Eric really enjoys is LED lights. He is intrigued by their potential to enhance sculptures adding colour and a fluidity of movement which appears almost ethereal. This attraction led to his experimentation and success with the design, installation and programming of his interactive Portal sculpture. One of Eric’s great strengths is his ability to troubleshoot and to picture things in 3D. This talent is evident from the practical to the aesthetic whether designing solar and water systems or sculptures and jewelry.
Birth of EricHolloway.Art
It was on a job that Eric first interacted with a CNC machine (computer numerical control; the automation of tools through the use of software.) Eric has always been ‘tech savvy’ so the use of computers to aid in the articulation of his artistic vision was to some, an inevitability. On his way out the door one morning Katelyn called out ‘Make me something pretty’ and at the end of the day there were a pair of wooden laser cut earrings in her hands. They were a quick favourite for Katelyn, who liked to wear statement pieces but didn’t want the weight of metal jewelry, and the concept for EricHolloway.Art was begun.
Relationships
Eric is known by his friends and family as being insightful and gracious. He believes that ‘we are all doing the best we can, trying to make a life for ourselves’ and this is forefront as he interacts with others; taking them at face value and understanding that not all will share his perspective or experiences. Eric values information and logic and can often be found reading articles, or searching for a more indepth take on topics current and in his fields of interest. He is also known to be theatrical in expression, and loves to share his talent with the hula hoop to entertain.
Gnomesteading
Eric’s passion for a low-impact lifestyle led him to move to the Kootenays in British Columbia, Canada, where tiny-home living, gravity fed water systems, and wild foraging are a common part of life. At times Eric has lived off grid, and his curiosity and comprehension of mechanics and design aided him in setting up his own solar, water, and compost toilet systems. These days Eric calls the remote town of Fauquier his home. He and Katelyn live in their school-bus-turned-tiny-home, which has been undergoing revisions since he purchased it in 2009. At one point off-grid, the bus is now hooked up to shore power; which is a good thing too because that is what allows him to utilize the Atezr Laser Cutter to create his EricHolloway.Art designs. Eric and Katelyn are avid gardeners; growing veggies, herbs, fruits, and flowers each year. They have affectionately taken on the term Gnomestead for their home.
Holloway
In the summer of 2020 Eric got curious about his last name and did a deep dive. He knew that his grandfather on his dad’s side was from England, but he was specifically interested in the name Holloway itself. He learned that it was from a hollow road or sunken path which was worn into the landscape. These century old paths connected towns and established trade and travel routes and some offered shelter from strong weather. These roads were often exposed rock or cobbled stone and over time the trees that grew on the level landscape above would lean or arch overhead; creating an alluring natural portal. Having designed, built, toured, laboriously refurbished and lovingly upgraded his magical Portal over the previous few years, uncovering this information resonated with Eric in a profound way.
Gnome and Time-Traveler
Eric is playfully known as Gnome to many of his community. Through the use of psychedelics Eric has learned to be more playful with life. To embrace beauty and move towards what feels good. Eric has come to see life as an experiment; to not allow risk or change to dissuade him from pursuing his interests or passions. Or, put another way, to not allow societal norms to shape his decision making process. He often jokes with friends that he is from the future and that he has traveled to this time to relay the message that ‘it will be okay’. Eric - ‘it’s not a joke’. For many, it seemed apt that Eric would go on to build a life-sized light-up Portal which centered on the very themes of time-travel, playfulness, and re-imagining your present.
Katelyn
Those who know Katelyn describe her as curious, analytical, and playful. Although her college days now seem long behind her, the education in psychology and sociology continue to inform the way she interacts with others and the way she moves about in the world. Knowing that first impressions are often misleading, Katelyn endeavors to look beyond the obvious, and ask what might have motivated that behaviour or pre-empted that reaction. This curiosity led her to do much international travel and to teach abroad. Her curiosity translates quickly to the natural world. Experimenting with sowing, propagating and cultivation methods, her approach is often linked back to permaculture; a way of thinking about plants and soil as a part of the bigger permanent ecosystem. In the woods Katelyn can often be seen crouched low examining the distinctions of pleurocarpous or acrocarpous moss and noticing the vibrancy of lichen and fairy cups. Wild foraging continues to be a highlight of the seasons and reminds her of the resiliency and profound complexity of the natural world. Katelyn is in many ways a gnome. She seems to always have a craft project on the go or a new hobby to explore. She enjoys the meditative qualities of repeating crochet stitches, symmetrical mandala dot work, or the repurposing aspect of simple craft projects. A bookkeeper by trade, Katelyn plays a few roles at EricHolloway.Art, including doing the books, in-person market sales, the digital marketing of the online store, and most importantly testing out the earrings.