LIZZIE STURM

Mixed Media

ABOUT LIZZIE

London born and raised, Lizzie (she/her) lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb happily growing plants and flowers for food, art and visual delight. An accidental workshop at a festival led to Lizzie’s passion for paper making. She has since studied paper making in Japan, Nepal and Israel. With no formal training, she has been hugely encouraged in her painting by her teachers at The Art Stables; Phillippa Clayden, Denzil Forrester and Simon Foxall. She uses oils, acrylics, charcoal and pulp in her work. When not in the studio, Lizzie can be found in her garden or allotment, walking, teaching yoga or travelling from which much of her inspiration is drawn.

GALLERY

MY WORK

As climate concerns intensify, Lizzie has gravitated towards developing sustainable practices in her art. She uses natural alternatives to create a rustic array of artwork; fibre bowls, botanical prints, anthotypes, chlorophyll prints, naturally dyed textiles and plant matter, botanical inks – all courtesy of plants. Lizzie cultivates plants on her allotment and garden to obtain natural colour and fibres to create her pulp images and in her work. Her planting and harvesting is guided by lunar cycles, living in alignment with natural rhythms.

 

Lizzie has embraced historical paper making techniques to create a medium for her pulp images. The almost ritualistic preparation of fibres for paper making is endlessly fascinating to her. There is a sense of alchemy with the cooked fibres revealing forms and textures; a natural material, very much alive, out of the ordinary and inspiring. Each colour and texture in the pieces is achieved by a single plant processed. To produce a specific colour, the fibres may undergo a secondary stage whereby colour is extracted from another plant and the fibres then dyed with this. Whilst her plant based art endures over many years, any disposed materials are recyclable, biodegradable and non toxic to bodies, soil, air and water.

 

She has an endless fascination with the uniqueness of each plant and what the final outcome may be. With each plant, there is an associated memory; stories and experiences infinitely woven into the creative process. There is also a connection to the divinity in all of nature and a greater power. It presents a continual lesson in patience and humility whilst nature runs its own course and the resultant outcome revealed – maybe entirely different to what was anticipated! But that is the joy, adventure and wonder of art from the plant. Enjoy browsing Lizzie’s work. Art that doesn’t cost the earth.

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn

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