Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Holt.
Hi Liz, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. During the final semester of my Art Studio bachelor’s program at Coastal Carolina University, I needed one more upper-level art class to graduate, so I signed up for what was available: an experimental fiber arts class. Embroidery quickly became my new favorite medium. I love the tactile nature of fiber art, and there’s something so accessible about making an artistic statement from materials people interact with every day.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
What I initially believed would be the greatest struggle with this medium has also turned out to be the greatest advantage. Because it wasn’t discussed as a medium during art history classes and I was in the first fiber art class offered in my undergrad program, I didn’t know of many fiber artists to look to for inspiration or technique in the way that an aspiring oil painter has countless renowned options to choose from. So, I wasn’t really sure what I should or could do with embroidery as a medium. But the flip side of that coin is that I was never told what not to do or that I couldn’t or shouldn’t do something. It was very freeing to find a medium unburdened by an elitist tradition in the way that so many others have been.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a fiber artist specializing in freehand embroidery and free motion machine embroidery. My work is inspired by and explores the struggles of women. Embroidery has long been dismissed as merely “decorative” or derided as “women’s work.” My work seeks to elevate the form by using “women’s work” to tell women’s stories in an unexpected way. My earliest embroidered works were created primarily with free motion machine embroidery, using my sewing machine to draw onto canvas fabric, and adding smaller details with freehand embroidery, and often incorporating acrylic paint washes. More recently, I’ve been exploring freehanded embroidery exclusively, using colored embroidery floss in various thicknesses, from all six strands down to a single strand in many instances, to paint images onto fabric without brushes.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
In first grade, my classmates and I were told to tear construction paper into whatever shapes we needed and glue them to a larger piece of paper to make a painting, like a kind of torn paper mosaic. I had so much fun in class that day because our art time usually didn’t last very long. Bit by bit, I tore paper to make a house with curtains in the windows, a black poodle outside, and a moon and stars (a classmate used all of the sky blue paper, so I was left with navy paper that no one wanted and made my house a night scene). I forgot about the piece until a few weeks later, when my mom, giggling with pride, took me to the local town festival to show me that my school had submitted my artwork to the festival art contest, and I had won first place in my grade. Best of all, after the festival, my mom had the artwork professionally framed along with my shiny blue ribbon. I’ve been chasing that high ever since.
Contact Info:
- Website: lizholtart.com
- Instagram: @lizholtart
- Facebook: facebook.com/lizholtart
