Elizabeth’s
work is a celebration of the every day, the small, the overlooked.
She takes inspiration from natural forms, from the manmade
environment and from the folk art of many cultures, drawing
on the past heritage of stitching to create original contemporary
work. Elizabeth’s work explores the cultural meanings
of stitch as well as the possibilities textiles offer for
creating form and texture. Collaborative work and designs
that reflects daily life and the local environment are part
of the heritage of stitching and find a natural place in
Elizabeth’s community based work.
2007
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Recent
project by
Elizabeth Smith
Daisy Chain Stitchers and the children
of St James C of E School Worsley Mesnes, supported
by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust as part of Arts for
all 2007
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In
her current work Elizabeth combines traditional textile
techniques with photographic material and recollection,
using the nature of some textile techniques – patching,
weaving, knotting, threading – as metaphor for how
we and our communities are created out of the varied elements
of our past. By setting everyday photographs in richly stitched
and patched frameworks for display in a gallery or public
context, Elizabeth’s work acknowledges the value of
the small rituals with family and friends, the value of
recounting one’s experiences and the value of stitching
itself.
In
her work for festivals and workshops Elizabeth often uses
discarded and disposable materials (plastic carrier bags
and packaging, seed cases and sticks,….) transforming
them into artworks, and acknowledging the role of ephemeral
creativity in helping us to celebrates and to feel our place
and value in the world. |
Exhibitions
2010 Knit
One, Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet,Touchstones,
Rochdale.
Wigan Open Exhibition, Turnpike Gallery, Leigh.
2009 UK
DIY, Turnpike Gallery, Leigh.
A Break with Tradition, Samlesbury Hall, near Preston
2008
Gare SNCF, Angers France.
Espace Welcome, Angers, France.
Stairs Gallery, Turnpike Centre, Leigh.
West Lancashire Open Exhibition, Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk.
Wigan Open Exhibition, Turnpike Gallery, Leigh.
2007 Unbound, Turnpike Gallery, Leigh.
Astley Open Biennial, Astley Hall, Chorley.
2006 Wigan Open Exhibition, Turnpike Gallery, Leigh.
West Lancashire Open Exhibition, Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk.
(Textile prize)
2005 Objects of Desire, Turnpike Gallery, Leigh. (Mixed
media prize)
West Lancashire Open Exhibition, Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk.
(Textile prize)
PastPresentFuture, Turnpike Gallery, Leigh.
Stairs Gallery, Turnpike Centre, Leigh.
2004 Re:generation, Turnpike Gallery, Leigh.
Arts in the Park.
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