I first came across Elizabeth's work at LaFontsee Gallery in Grand Rapids when I used to live there. It sucked me in immediately! It reminded me of one of my favorite artist's Fairfield Porter with a feminine twist. Serene with great color, and I've always wanted to learn how to create a gouache sensibility to my work, and Elizabeth does it so well. I convinced Elizabeth to come up and do a pop up in 2016 with Beth from Farmhouse Candle, and the chemistry with the two of them was just a blast. During the pop up, we realized we had lots more in common with motherhood and living in West Michigan. Elizabeth is heading back to see us with a car full of originals and people are already planning their vacations around seeing them! Since her last show, Elizabeth added a little girl to her family, and we have definitely shared war stories of going from a family of 3 to 4. We can't wait to have her back on August 6th!
Name: Elizabeth Mayville
Business: Elizabeth Mayville
Current Favorites?
Songs: Roadrunner by The Modern Lovers, Ten Things by Paul Baribeau and Indian Summer by Beat Happening.
Movie: I'm dying to see Rampage. I truly love action movies about oversized animals or natural disasters. Book: My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. Every time I read it I end up back in the habit of drawing.
Seasonal activity: Planning for the summer and reading with the windows open.
Favorite creative pastime?
Garden planning. It's good for me because I don't have a saleable product at the end so I'm truly focusing on the making for the fun of it. I just got a new pad of graph paper and there are not words for my level of enthusiasm.
How has your upbringing influenced your creativity?
My parents always encouraged my interest in art and never made me feel like I should be focusing on something more constructive. Plus they're both pleasantly offbeat so they probably celebrated my idiosyncrasies rather than trying to snuff them out.
Aspiring to...
My aim is always to make beautiful paintings that draw attention to the quick but breathtaking bits of a day that can get past you if you're not paying attention.
What does a normal day look like for you?
MAYHEM. Though I'm sure it looks pretty low-key and dull from the outside.
Wake up, make individualized breakfasts for my 5 year old son, 10 month old daughter and myself, clean up from breakfast, try to keep baby from eating dog hair, yell at son to get clothes on faster, drop off son at preschool (late), drop off orders at post office, come home, dog walk, nap time for baby, work for an hour, wake up baby and give bottle, go pick up son from preschool, library time, come home, make three personalized lunches, clean up from lunch while making sure the baby doesn't eat dog food, dog walk, nap time for baby, play with son/do chores, make a snack for son, baby's up!, nurse baby, start making dinner, say hello to husband home from work, hand him baby, eat dinner, put baby to bed, work in studio for an hour or two, read 25 pages from a book, watch an episode of The Office, BED THANK GOD.
This will all change in a week when school lets out for the summer. The new routine will involve larger quantities of coffee.
What are your favorite + least favorite parts about what you do?
Favorite: If I'm interested in something I get to be obsessed with it and think about it all the time until I'm not interested in it and then I can stop.
Least favorite: Figuring out shipping. It's just the worst.
How are you "making light" in your everyday life?
At the moment my everyday life is mostly me and my kids and It's really easy for me to get bogged down with the day-to-day business of parenting (food preparation, laundry, poop in unexpected places) but I try not to take myself to seriously. I'm more interested in having a good day than a bad one so I laugh whenever possible and seize every opportunity go out and have a drink with my husband and friends.
What is your favorite dance move?
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