Thursday, December 27, 2007

Artist of the Week is...




!!! Elizabeth Dawson !!!!





Name: Elizabeth Dawson

Nickname: Lulu

Email Address: http://us.f817.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=quilts22@msn.com

Website and/or Blog: http://www.elizabethanne.cc/ and http://www.enchanted-art.blogspot.com/

What Yahoo groups do you belong to? Probably too many to list--including Art Techniques, Collage Composition, Acrylic Artists, Collage Unleashed, Fiber ATCs, Sky's the Limit, Raw Art, and Surface Design

What kind of art do you like to do? Mainly quilting, with an emphasis on Art Quilts and more recently mixed media.

What materials do you work a lot with on a regular basis? Fabric, dyes and paints, threads and yarns, beads, and recently experimenting with painted paper towels and dryer sheets.

What type of materials would you not touch if it was even given to you? I'm open to just about anything.

Do you like to peel stuff off your fingers or not? Like paint and glue? I'd rather get in and get dirty than wear gloves!

Do you "collect" something? Everything! I tend to collect whatever I can get my hands on, because you'll never know when it might come in handy. My most recent collection is junk mail envelopes--they have their own special box, and it is almost full, so I had better start using them or get a bigger box.

What else do you do when you are working on something art related? I have a home-based quilting business, so I spend a lot of time doing that, plus taking care of 2 small children.

Is your art area messy or kinda neat? So messy--I am constantly trying to clean it up.

Who or what has influenced your artwork the most up to this point? I think that the internet has made a huge difference in the way that I have access to art, artists, techniques and materials that I otherwise may not be exposed to. It just sparks all of my creativity.

Are you a self-taught artist? Yes.

Tell me about the day you realized you were a "real" artist? Oh, am I a real artist yet?

What colors speak to you? Rich, dark colors, not pastels. I also like uncommon color combinations, and to see the way that colors change depending on what else they are surrounded with.

What colors do you absolutely abhor? The combination of yellow and grey, and sweet pink.

What do you think is being overdone right now? Vintage images and words.

Do you have a day or 2nd shift job? My longarm machine quilting, quilt pattern and teaching business.

What would you rather be doing than the above job? Making art that I want to make just because.

Do you do "cute"? I do baby quilts for family and friends, and sometimes for patterns. My own art is not so much cute.

Have you been published in a national art magazine or even want to do that? Not yet, maybe some day. I guess you have to submit something in order to be published....

Do you do something the first time and leave it or do you go back and work it some more until you get it "just right"? I leave things all the time when I get stuck, and go back to them over and over. I have MANY projects in progress at any given time. I don't always see the end vision when I start, and sometimes it takes time to evolve.

When do you feel most satisfied in your art process? When I am "in the zone" working on art, and there are no interruptions, time stands still.

How do you lose yourself and forget about everything else? That is tough these days juggling my business and family. I try to get "my art" time between about 11pm-12am, but sometimes I get interrupted even then.

Tell me about a vice that you have. Obsession!

Anything you want to ask me or anything else you want to add? Thanks for this opportunity to share a little bit about myself and my art. The pics that I am submitting:
Horse-- is one of my quilt patterns, part of a series of 12 entitled "Echoes of the Past:
Leaf Postcard--one of my recent obsessions using a variety of materials.
Funky Flowers--a recent collage style quilt using some non-traditional fabrics.

2 comments:

Linda Manning Findley said...

oh this is lovely I can easily see why she is Artist of the Week ... congrats Elizabeth ..... Linda F

Debby said...

I know Elizabeth (via internet) I love what she does. Awesome Artist of the Week.