Today we’d like to introduce you to Eliza Day-Green.
Hi Eliza, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in London and moved to the USA in my early twenties. I can remember from the earliest age always drawing and making things. I desperately wanted to go to Art School but was encouraged by my academic parents to go to University where I studied languages and then worked in International Education all the while pursuing my art on the side. When I got married and moved to LA, I decided to pursue my creative side full-time. I worked in the fashion industry as a textile designer and taught textile design. After my son was born, I created my own line of children’s clothing and accessories. Now I am primarily focused on my fine art career and my teaching. Since the pandemic, I have been teaching online art classes and have really enjoyed building that community of support for people.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I feel fortunate for all the positives but life is never a completely smooth road. My husband was very ill right before our son was born and it was a struggle running a business with a small child, sick husband, and no family around for support. I was not able to go back to the UK to see family as much as I would have liked and have always felt guilty that I wasn’t around more for my parents as they aged.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am known as a mixed-media artist. I have recently gone back to my textile roots thanks to a month-long Art Residency in Iceland on a remote sheep farm in the Westfjords. I am proud to say that I currently have a solo show here in LA at Studio203. The show represents a year’s worth of work inspired by Iceland and is curated by Aneesa Shami Zizzo. I think what sets me apart from others is my interest in the healing power of art and creative practice. At the beginning of the Pandemic, I saw many of my friends, some artists some not, who were struggling with the isolation of lockdown. I created an online course called the “Hand/Mind Connection: Healing Transformation through Art”. I feel this course has helped artists reset in their practice and opened the creative floodgates to students who didn’t think they could do anything artistic. It is my favorite workshop to offer as the work can be very transformational.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I use/suggest a couple of Apps to my students. Adobe Capture for creating color stories from photos they take and for converting images to grayscale. I also like to use the Artrooms App so students can see what their work would look like framed and hung in certain interior spaces. I have collected many art reference books over the years that I refer to for both my own practice and to suggest as reference materials to students. A favorite that I often pick up is: The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair. Also Threads of Life, by Clare Hunter and Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel. Over the holidays I was gifted The Stitch Bible by Kate Haxell featuring 225 stitches and techniques. Very fun and inspiring. The only podcast I listen to is the Get Sleepy podcast. I think good sleep is really important to recharge one’s creative batteries and the subconscious dream world can be a creative space for problem-solving.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elizadaygreen.com
- Instagram: @elizadaygreen
Image Credits
Image credit: photography by martincox.com
