Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Souza
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve worked in creative fields all my life, I’ve been a dancer, a seamstress, and a fiber artist. In 2012, I became very ill and as a result of my recovery, I realized I wanted to live my life better. I realized there were things I had left incomplete so I went back to school to finish a degree in art eventually receiving my MFA from CSUN. Now I work as a professor part-time at CSUN and CSUCI as well as have an art career.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There were struggles along the way. I had to confront the reality that I was much older than most other students, but I tried to view my life experiences as an asset that would help me. Fortunately, I enjoy people of all ages and my cohort was an open-minded wonderful group of individuals. Another struggle I encountered was starting grad school during the Covid 19 lockdown! We weren’t allowed to use our art studios on campus, but it may have been a blessing in disguise because the cohort seemed to bond really well over Zoom.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work focuses on issues of my ethnic identity, women, and colonialism. I’m interested in building a narrative from a matriarchal point of view. The actual work I make may be hard to describe because I’m interested in a lot of different ways of making art. I’m a painter and although I sometimes engage in traditional oil painting and watercolor techniques I also intermingle collage elements within my pieces. In my watercolors, I sometimes add bits of printed paper and superimpose plants onto the surfaces. I also sew vintage fabrics, beads, and photo transfers to my oil paintings. I’ve always been interested in patterns, textiles, and plants that make their way into my art. I am most proud of the installation I did for the Land + Sky project at the Lloyd Butler Ranch in Ventura. I was given the freedom to use a space in any way I wanted and I combined several pieces including a large mixed-media collage, four silk tapestries embellished with found objects, and some watercolor paintings.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Tenacity and goal-setting are probably my strongest qualities. I’m very able to isolate my goals and I stick to them once I start on something.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elizabethcoertsouza.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethsouzaartist/
Image Credits
All works made by Elizabeth Souza
