Elizabeth Paterson

Elizabeth Paterson graduated from the Victoria College of the Arts Drama School in 1979. She worked in professional theatre for many years before gradually moving into the visual arts. Her completion of a Graduate Diploma in Sculpture at the ANU School of Art in 1994 was a significant step in this transition.
Paterson has mostly developed her practice through solo exhibitions where she pursues a particular theme in depth, responding to the exhibition space to create an installation rather than focusing on separate objects. Galleries in which she has exhibited include the Canberra Museum and Gallery, Craft ACT: Craft + Design Gallery and the Australian National Botanic Gardens Gallery. Her latest exhibition, called Double Vision, with Annika Romeyn, was at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre at the end of 2020; the outcome of a Corin Dam Spring Residency in 2019 run by Craft ACT and the Namadgi National Park.
Alongside, and often stemming out of her exhibition work, Elizabeth has completed many commissions. For example, in 2013 she created a papier mache relief work for the ACT Legislative Assembly foyer to commemorate the 20th anniversary of ACT self-government. Since 2000 Elizabeth has also collaborated with Bev Hogg in creating concrete sculptures for public art.
Elizabeth was born and bred in Canberra and has lived here most of her life. The Canberra environment is a strong influence in her work.
The month of art journaling was a great opportunity to help me get back into my studio after a break of several months. I used it to reacquaint myself with materials and techniques that I haven’t worked with for ages; sometimes finding things in storage I had forgotten about. I enjoyed the unplanned and open-ended process of each page. Sometimes I ended up down a rabbit hole I couldn’t get myself out of. Sometimes it was clear and simple. I loved the surprise element of never knowing what I would do or end up with.