If you have been following along before I even started this blog, you might remember that this past May, my work was shown in a gallery in Brenham, TX along with the work of my best art friend, Olivia Nucci! The show ran through the month of May, and then was moved to the bed & breakfast connected to the gallery for the months since. While I was down at The Farm over Labor Day weekend, I stopped in Brenham to pick up the remaining pieces from the show, which are now available for purchase on my site. 

The pieces I created for this show hold a very special place in my heart. Olivia and I each have family that has roots in the same tiny town in south Texas. When we were at TCU, we discovered our shared history, and immediately bonded in a special way. Olivia understands the way of life that we experience when we travel to these places, and experiences the same contrast between our day-to-day lives (hers in NYC, mine in Fort Worth) and the slower pace of small town living. Our work is both deeply connected to the draw of our small town roots, which in turn has bonded us together through this shared yearning. Our show statement sums up the motivation for 'Drawn Together':

The work from “Drawn Together” is derived from Elizabeth and Olivia’s personal connection to the land and to the history of the small towns in Texas that have helped to shape them into who they are. It is through the art of painting that Elizabeth and Olivia were first drawn together, later discovering their mutual, deep rooted connection to the same areas of Southeast Texas. “Drawn Together” displays how a similar physical location uniquely impacted each artist, deeply intertwining their two stories.

There is a connection between the lush and vibrant Texas landscapes and the soft, multicolored quilts made from the people who have inhabited the land; a people and a land that are constantly longed for by both artists. Both subjects bring comfort to the artist through the methodical act of painting, while also bringing a sense of comfort to the viewer through the act of looking. The viewer has the opportunity to become transported to another place or another time while associating their personal memories to the pieces. Experience the simplicity of another time and give yourself over to nostalgia in the exhibition, “Drawn Together.”