Photo by Cat Penanga Photography

Meet the Artist,
Elizabeth (Hillmann) Goodwill, MFA

Biography

I have been an active artist in the Sarasota art community since moving to the area in 2008. I received my MFA in Book Art from New Mexico State University in 2007 and my BFA from Ohio State University in Printmaking in 2004. I am a teacher, a maker, a forever student, and a leader in the Sarasota arts community. From 2012-2021, I worked at Art Center Sarasota where I built and cultivated an active and successful education department. This past year my business partner and longtime friend Barbara Gerdeman and I opened an affordable, open concept studio and gallery space in the Limelight District of Sarasota. Our dream and motto is “Artists helping Artists” and we are making our vision a reality. I have created artwork in various mediums for as long as I can remember. The tactile sensation of my hands creating has always fascinated and inspired me. Early on, my mother and father made sure to provide my sister and me with a variety of opportunities to create and see art making in many of its innumerable incarnations. I am forever thankful that they kindled and supported my passions as I grew. It is that encouragement and influence that drives me to give back and share with all who are interested in pursuing, learning about, or who simply appreciate art. My work has been exhibited around the country and internationally since 1999. A number of my works are part of private collections around the world.

Artist Statement

“Never give up asking why and learning how.” That is my mantra. During my childhood my family traveled, moved, and explored the United States and Canada. Mine and my sister’s playgrounds were the open woods, libraries, and national parks. My work is built upon memories, especially those from my childhood. These memories give my creations a feeling of playfulness and whimsy. Prevalent throughout all the evolutions my work has gone though, are iconography and language. These are most sacred to me. It is through these matrixes that I feel the safest expressing myself and make a point to emphasize just how sacred the objects and forms are to me. The works in this show are part of my animal mask series that I started creating during my undergraduate studies. These masks are structural and totemic forms of ethical taxidermy. Animals and nature have always been at the core of my being. Memories of Wild America, a program I still love to watch, was so magical to me. Seeing the creatures that lived in the woods I played in, up close and in their daily life formed a bond between us. And seeing them in the wild, just quick glimpses or frozen in time in museums, embedded their forms into my psyche even more. Each mask is unique and is covered in soft, supple leather that has been thoughtfully manipulated and laid upon a wire form. These masks are a slow process that takes time to arrange and place the material to create features and expressions that bring it to life. I have been expanding this series and experimenting with a variety of materials that are enhancements to the leather and wire. Weaving, gold leaf, colored leather, paper, painting, and exposed wire work add new variation within the forms. This work is a type of meditation for me. As I build each one, I can see the creature take shape and adapt the pattern or form as needed to achieve the results that I am looking for. Many times in the process, I will put them aside for a while and turn to other projects to let my unconscious mind ponder what I should do next. The end result is an object of contemplation and the journey getting there is my art.

CV