Artist Statement
I create environments in collage and three-dimensional still-life arrangements, that not only capture moments from daily life, but also unfurl fantastical settings from my imagination. Stamps, envelopes, scraps of fabric and patterned paper detritus are composed in arrangements, setting up compositions and a sense of play of color, texture and space.
Slip and under-glaze painted "clay textile" slabs swaddle and form the skin and foundation for my clay works. Paper which folds, cloth which drapes and vines which intertwine, work to house and interact with the arrangements. Colors' ability to flirt with the onlooker and activate the space within each composition is a constant source of motivation.
In my paper collages, I work intuitively, in much the same way that I do with my clay work. I have always been drawn to the process of taking unrelated items and combining them together to form a whole: a structure and system.
I tap into the world of trompe l'oeil in the work and remain profoundly compelled by the way that I can depict mundane and ephemeral objects like crinkled paper and folded cloth in clay; essentially recording transient moments in time. The transformation of mud to ceramics is tantalizing for me as an artist grounded in such an essential craft medium.
I am drawn in by the worlds created by 16th century Dutch still life painters and the feeling that something just happened, is about to happen or is under-way.
I seek to tap into the entropy held in the still-life arrangements, and take it a step further in these 3-D collages and collage environments. I am compulsively drawn to the act of making by hand and procuring the ready-made and mixing up the two in the "Duchampian" tradition.
Collecting and squirreling things away, just in case, is part of my nature... Nothing is ever really safe from being repurposed. Pieces that sit on my studio shelves can always be re-discovered and combined with another form or composition.
Arist Biography
Liz is an artist and sculptor living in Alexandria, Virginia. Liz shows her work in the D.C. area and around the United States. She is a member of the Washington Sculptor's Group and holds a MFA and a BFA degree from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Liz is a high school art teacher at Episcopal High School and is the Gallery Director at the Angie Newman Johnson Gallery at EHS's Ainslie Arts Center. Liz has worked in collage since her years as an under-graduate and finds inspiration for her sculptural work and installations through the medium.
Liz enjoys working with her community and with other artists in outreach projects. In her free time, Liz enjoys bird watching, long boarding, hiking and gardening.
Liz, a daughter of two artists, grew up in Philadelphia and has lived in Western New York, Scotland, Seattle, and most recently, in Alexandria. Her travels to China, Europe, Mexico, Canada and around the United States (to many of the National and State Parks) has shaped her deeply. Liz and her husband, Nat, enjoy being part of the community at the boarding school where they live and teach.
Visit her webpage here
