Meet Elizabeth Frank | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Frank and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, why did you pursue a creative career?
I honestly think that I didn’t have a choice about whether I would be in artist. It was just something I did since childhood. For me making art is right up there with eating and sleeping. That said making a living as an artist is not an easy path. It is always a challenge to balance the creative practice with the practicalities of running a business and ultimately selling the artwork.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a carved wood, mixed media sculptor residing in the southwestern United States. A guiding principle in my life is to walk lightly on the earth. To that end I choose sustainable, found and reclaimed materials whenever possible. Each summer or fall I visit an aspen forest in Northern Arizona or New Mexico to collect downed wood for my carvings. I view each journey as a pilgrimage.

By choice my visual style appears naive but my artwork is fueled by both complex and elemental issues, a threatened natural world, human migration, fear of the other and simple hope all make their way into my visual narrative.

The part of southern Arizona where I live is about 60 miles from the US/Mexico border. The region is known for its sky islands, mountain ranges rising abruptly from surrounding deserts and grasslands. The flora and fauna intermingle in the sky islands creating a region of exceptionally high biodiversity. Climate change and construction of miles of border wall threaten the region’s already stressed wildlife while doing little to stop those migrating across the desert.

My work would not exist had I not spent hours walking in the woods and deserts of the southwest observing the plants and animals, had I not seen perhaps, one hundred people crossing the desert heading north from the Mexican border, walking silently, single file, in search of safe passage, had I not helped free a coyote from a steel jaw trap.

I make my art to keep my world in balance.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Since I’m writing this in the springtime the weather is perfect for outdoor adventures. I’d start the day with a delicious Mexican breakfast at Buendia then a hike in the Rincon Mountains on the Douglas Spring Trail. Then after the hike maybe a Blood Orange Margarita and dinner at Reforma. The next day I’d take my friend to see the Mission Gardens, a lovely garden filled with native desert plants. Since we’d be close I’d show them, San Xavier, a Spanish Colonial Church with amazing frescos. Lunch at Seis in Mercado San Augustin and shopping there. We’d make sure to stop at Petroglyphs, a fabulous Tucson Emporium where my artwork is represented.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband, Jim Breining

Website: https://www.elizabethfrank.com

Instagram: @Lizzyseye, @elizabethfrankartworks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethfrankart

Image Credits
Photo of artist by Tim Fuller