My Story
My story begins with my dad dying from a sudden illness the week before my wedding. That was my first taste of grief- all encompassing and incapacitating- tossed into the the joy of marriage to my first love and soulmate. The story continues with my Grandpa passing through cancer while I was in the hospital having my first baby. Again, grief and joy. And then, grief as my mom died from a freak fall a few months later. Joy as we discovered another pregnancy. Then grief as we lost that child. Then burst forth my untreated mental illness. There were days when I was tight-roping between the shadows and the earth. Then doctors and medication restored my mind. My third child was born on the tenth anniversary of my dad’s death. That was the day I felt I could live again. Every year on her birthday I celebrate not just her birth, but my rebirth.
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Joy and sorrow are a braid that cannot be unraveled without both slipping away. The weaving of the two creates a human soul. The first painting class I took was in Byzantine iconography. In that tradition every saint, every angel, every Christ, is surrounded by gold- a symbol of grace and divine presence. I haven’t painted a proper Jesus figure in awhile- but yet I have. I believe every person and every animal is filled with grace and God’s presence. It may be marred and meshed with the mortal, but still the sacred remains in every being.
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You are sacred. You are favored. You are loved. Go forth in joy and light.
What is Divine and Dust?
Humans are full of paradoxes. In the story of the creation in Genesis, we are created from the dust of the earth, yet God breathes into us his divinity. When we are born we meet the tragedy of a broken world and the joy of the overflow of our senses- the sights and smells of new life. We are marred yet beautiful. Profane yet sacred. Mortal yet eternal. And loved- definitely loved.
Lizzie in the Flesh
Hi, I'm Lizzie!
I started painting over fifteen years ago when I took my first class in Byzantine iconograpy. Since then, rarely a day goes by where some kind of art medium is not involved. My official education culminated with an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Ashland Theological Seminary. My art education, however, has never ended- I am taking workshops and residencies whenever possible. I continue to exhibit my work around Ohio. In my passion to amplify the voices of all peoples, I was the co-coordinator for the All Abilities Art Expo for several years until it ended with Covid. I discovered my love of teaching when I was teen as a craft helper in Vacation Bible School. Since then, I have taught children from preschool through elementary school in summer camps and after school programs. I live in Canton, OH with my husband of 25 years, my two youngest daughters, and five cats.