Profile: Marla Lawson, forensic sketch artist

''No matter what kind of art you’re into, you’ve probably seen the work of Atlanta’s Marla Lawson. A forensic sketch artist for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Lawson has drawn some of Atlanta’s most wanted criminals, including Olympic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph.

How did you get started in your career?

I had just gotten out of high school and I needed a job. My mom found an ad in the AJC that said there was a need for a street artist at Underground. I thought to myself, “I can’t do that.” But I went down to Underground anyway like I was hot stuff and started working. The police department was nearby, and I would go down there from time to time telling them I wanted a job as a typist. After I went down there for the third time they finally hired me. Eventually, word got out that there was a girl downstairs could draw, and pretty soon I was being bombarded to do sketches.

What does a forensic sketch artist do?

If you’re a victim of rape, robbery, homicide or any type of act, investigators will make an appointment with me. I would sit down with you and we would make a sketch of the person who committed this act against you. I also work with the morgue on unidentified remains. I work to create models of what the person would look like today, so that perhaps people will see these forms and be able to identify them.

What is the process for creating the form for unidentified remains?

It’s actually kind of hard, because you don’t know the hair color, eyes, size of the person. A lot of it is sketch work. The skull has a lot of landmarks to reveal how they look.''