Haley Cloonan-Lisi has been a bartender at Redemption Rock Brewing Co. for a little over a year. But now, she’s starting to combine her love of art with her job, even making it a side project as well.

“I’m very tactile,” Cloonal-Lisi said. “I like doing this stuff. It’s like graphic and bold.”

Cloonan-Lisi has a degree in fine and studio arts from Bridgewater State University. Her mom is an art teacher, so the path has always been somewhat in her blood. Cloonan-Lisi said her mom was able to guide her to find what area of art she liked best.

“I always wanted to do can labels,” Cloonan-Lisi said. “They always come with the beer fully fleshed out and then we come up with the label after that.”

And two of Redemption Rock Brewing’s beer cans have so far helped her accomplish that dream.

Appleseed is currently on tap at the brewery. The apple cider sour ale is supposed to be “assertively tart,” according to the website. It includes notes of apple and cinnamon and is brewed with apple cider from Carlson Orchards. It is available for purchase on tap or to go in four-packs as well as crowlers.

“It’s based on Johnny Appleseed, who is from Leominster,” Cloonan-Lisi said. “I did some research on him, which was fun. He was a pacifist and loved animals.”

The can encompasses what Cloonan-Lisi found. Johnny Appleseed is outside in the woods meditating with animals around him.

The other product Cloonan-Lisi worked on for the brewery was a cream ale with toasted coconut.

“I kind of based it off of the tablecloths we have here,” Cloonan-Lisi said. “It’s sort of a funky, floral tropical pattern.”

But, as she said is “so crazy,” Cloonan-Lisi loves ceramics. As a painter throughout her life, focusing on two-dimensional designs and objects, Cloonal-Lisi realized that those could transform easily onto some pottery as well.

“I just didn’t think I was the best at it and thought it was for someone else,” she said. “But then I was like no I like it the most. I should do that.”

Cloonan-Lisi has been focusing on planters a lot recently, with her brand Eight Point Five Design. Her patterns are more bold and have more blocky colors. The colors are vibrant, and, while green may not typically go next to a pink or red, it works well with Cloonan-Lisi’s designs.

“I found paintings from high school that aren’t the same but it is a bold color,” Cloonan-Lisi said. “I was just like ok this is what I do.”

Though she said it took a while to stop doubting herself, Cloonan-Lisi’s favorite product is her pots. She rents studio space at the Worcester Center for Crafts, where she tries to go at least twice a week.

“I think I’m finally getting to the point where I know what I like to do,” Cloonan-Lisi said. “I’m not trying to do a different thing.”

The pottery have different designs with stripes and blocks, some including more arch-like shapes. The different angles and lines, she said, came from her walks during the beginning of the pandemic around Worcester. She took inspiration from buildings and signs.

And of course, Cloonan-Lisi has saved a lot of her favorites for herself.

Cloonan-Lisi realized that she “can do art,” as she said, when she won a contest to redesign the Worcester Arts Council logo. She said her inspiration came from one of the murals in Worcester.

To see more of Cloonan-Lisi’s work, go to her Instagram, eightpointfivedesigns, or website, eightpointfivedesigns.com.