We recently connected with Elisha Frontz and have shared our conversation below.
Elisha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project I’ve been working on lately was inspired by events from my own life. As 2023 came to an end it became increasingly clear that my 80 year-old father-in-law was changing. He starting getting lost coming home from the store just two blocks from the house he had lived in for more than 45 years. For decades he had spent several nights a week volunteering for different organizations, and suddenly he stopped leaving the house. Once a fastidious, financially responsible person, he stopped paying bills. At the beginning of 2024 he was officially diagnosed with dementia caused by Alzheimer’s.
Shortly after my father-in-law’s diagnosis, my husband took over his parents finances. That was when my husband discovered that his father had been hiding an extensive gambling addiction, possibly fueled by dementia. Our family soon uncovered boxes of spent scratch-off lottery tickets, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. All of the money my father-in-law so carefully saved to care for himself and his wife in their final years was gone.
These family tragedies compelled me to wonder what, if anything, my husband and I would be leaving our own children. My question mirrors a question that mothers all over the world ask themselves – What do mothers leave behind? Traditionally speaking, much of what mothers leave their children is that which they make with their own hands – tapestries, embroideries, and quilts made from the remnants of the lives they lived or the wealth that they had gathered along the way. The only physical remnants of gained generational wealth that I have to offer are used lottery tickets.
So, I started creating a series of quilts made out of my father-in-laws spent scratch-off lottery tickets. These quilts stand in as heirloom pieces for my next generation. But, they also have a deeper, broader significance. They question what our capitalist society is leaving as legacy, and asks why our government depends on state sanctioned institutions that prey on the vulnerable to fund education and other social programs. I’ve had many conversations with viewers who have experienced similar scenarios uncovering the lottery addictions of their aging parents and grandparents. It’s a far more prevalent problem than I expected, because many victims feel too embarrassed to talk about what has happened. Although the situation is heartbreaking and uncomfortable, I feel like telling this story through my art is bringing the issue into the light and helping people, if not to heal, to know that they are not alone.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My mother enjoys telling stories of how, as a toddler, I would alternately stand at my toy piano “composing”, then turn to draw on the wall frantically, as if visually recording what I had just performed. She recounts how even then I was introducing myself as a musician and a visual artist. Over the decades I have continued to vacillate between those two forms of expression, allowing each to feed off the other. For example, during the Covid lockdown I pivoted away from my successful jazz trio and toward a concentrated visual arts practice.
When I graduated from the Art Academy of Cincinnati, my studies focused heavily on sculpture. I chose to pursue that particular branch of art because I wanted to learn how to use as many different mediums as I possibly could, to give myself as vast an array of tools and materials as possible to pull from in order to create works that have conceptual depth. The many materials used in my current works are chosen with care. Found sewing patterns become textural iconography, book pages become landscapes, and lottery tickets become heirlooms. Although I use all of these unconventional materials, a sense of musical vibration, repetition, melody, and rhythm are aspects that create a through line in my visual art. All of the component pieces come together in harmony to form a unique hand-made message about the world around and inside of me.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Education is the key to fostering a thriving creative ecosystem. It is both shortsighted and self-defeating to eliminate arts education from public schools, but that is what tends to happen when schools are faced with budget shortages. Education in the arts, whether it’s creative writing, dance, theater, music, or visual art, promotes critical thinking and communication skills. It can also breed confidence, community, and work ethic. I feel that arts education is just as important as learning about math or technology, and enhances those studies. When people learn about art, they learn about history and context. They start to look at the world with a wider lens. And they start to appreciate art and artists more. That is why I feel like the best way to support artists is to provide as much education in the arts fields as possible.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is connecting with other people on a deep emotional or cognitive level. My work begins as an image, concept, or idea trapped in my brain. Sometimes I labor for months to manifest my thoughts into the physical world where people can view them. Being able to bring these ideas into existence is extremely rewarding. Although I feel that there are moments that can transcend that type of reward. My studio is in a giant re-purposed factory that holds hundreds of studios, galleries, and small businesses. The entire complex opens to the public for 2 days every month so that the public can see what we make and meet the artists. That is usually when I get to watch viewers experience what I’ve created and presented. Some people don’t get it, or don’t care. That’s fine. I’m not making art for everybody. However, there are people who see what I’ve made who are amazed, or inspired, or moved. People who get it, who care. The moments I get to experience how my art impacts those viewers are the most rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elishafrontzart.com
- Instagram: elishafrontzart
- Facebook: Elisha Frontz Art
Image Credits
Elisha Frontz
ScottyDfoto