Artist Statement

Much of my childhood was spent belly-flat to the well-worn wooden-planked docks of Friday Harbor, WA. From this vantage point, I observed billowing seaweed, spiky urchins, darting shrimp, scuttling crabs, and nubby barnacles. My lips tasted of salt; my ears filled with the sounds of boat engines and pilings creaking; my nose inhaled scents of varnish and diesel gasoline. Decades later I am still in awe of these dynamic images, textures, shapes, and patterns; working them into the tapestry of my artwork.

These sense memories intertwine with my studies of Jungian psychology, dream interpretation, mythology, symbolism, folktales, and folklore. I studied printmaking, writing, and psychology at The New School, graduating in 2008. Jungian archetypes and the unconscious’ language of symbols are woven into my collagraph plates, linocuts, jewelry, and collages. I create my own personal myth through the symbols I carve from linoleum blocks or cut from mat board. I embellish the collagraph plates with carborundum powders, embossed papers, leaves, and flowers; creating stories through tones and textures.

Nature, imagination, and dreamworlds were places of escape for me as a child. My art represents a careful reconsideration of how chaos can be transformed through creative agency, an agency I lacked as a child but have since reclaimed. The layered details and symbolic meanings of my completed works represent my ongoing journey.

Associations and Collectives

Elizabeth is proud to be an Artist Member of the Marblehead Art Association. She is a member of the Monotype Guild of New England, Newburyport Art Association, EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, and the Rolling River Printmakers collective.