Watsonville artist Elizabeth Williams will show her latest artworks in a new exhibit at Fruition Brewing in Watsonville.
“Folk Art, Assemblage Dolls and Painted Cut-Outs,” will feature around 50 works of painted wood sculptures, assemblage, paintings on wood and more.
“This show came about because I wanted to finish all the ‘started’ pieces in my studio, ” Williams said. “There were cut-outs, and assemblages that just needed a little more work and in finishing these pieces I got more ideas and started and finished new ones. I’ve been making art all my life. I come from a creative family where we did all kinds of art and had plenty of raw materials.” Williams added that her upbringing allowed her freely to experiment and “make a mess to our hearts content.”
“We lived on a farm, had tools and ‘stuff’ galore. And books. We did not have TV. My parents taught crafts to 4-H kids. I learned so much from them.”
Williams has shown her work around Santa Cruz County for decades and participated in the annual Open Studios Art Tour.
“All I ever wanted to do was art,” she said. “I tried all the mediums and disciplines at art school and college, and then taught many of these later to children and adults. Folk artists use whatever is on hand, they create something out of nothing and it’s a pure creative energy, not sullied by commercialism, conformity or how it’s supposed to look.”
Her art is made of materials she has collected for years, including toys, metal, wood, and wire.
“I’ve been using a jigsaw to make cut-out animals since I was a kid,” Williams said. The new striped pieces are inspired by Australian First Peoples, Native American and Paleolithic art. The new whales and mermaids are cut-out from discarded redwood fence boards, painted with acrylic paint. The exhibit runs from Oct. 4-31 at Fruition Brewing, 918 East Lake Ave. in the East Lake Village Shopping Center. A public reception is slated for Oct. 4 from 6-9pm.
