We were lucky to catch up with Elizabeth Tinglof recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elizabeth, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My current projects have become incredibly meaningful to me because they combine an individual journey along with an ongoing collaboration, inspired by my recent residency at the Maison de Claude Monet in Giverny, France. Spending time in the iconic gardens of the painter Claude Monet prompted my new series of paintings – Traces. This body of work encompasses an earlier concept of abstract environmental depictions, reminiscent of aerial topography, with surfaces that reflect a mapping of the passage of time – as if one could unearth the traces of history beneath the soil.
This conversation of “unearthing”, as it pertains to its definition of discovery, was also of interest to artist and now collaborator, Sarah Schorr, who’s residency in Giverny overlapped mine. Having shared the same experience, from different perspectives and in different mediums, we found that Monet’s gardens had sent us both on a like minded path in many ways.

The following passage from our artwork Unearthing description, relays our concept, In Monet’s garden, opening the green gates to the water garden feels like stepping into a painting. The gardeners work year round to keep this pond in balance. In the onsite greenhouse, the precision of temperature, light, and humidity nurtures new growth. Too much water is dangerous to the germination process. What is the art of keeping a garden’s water in balance?  Since the time when Monet created the garden for his impressionist work, climate disruption has complicated the process of preserving his vision and the balance of his creation.

Drawn to this exploration of water, specifically with respect to its balance, we began a collaborative series of site-specific installations titled Unearthing. The first installation took place in Joshua Tree, CA for Rough Play Projects followed by one in Aarhus Denmark for Holme Kunsthal. While Sarah and I continue our own art practice and various other projects, we look forward to our next opportunity to continue this series.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been working artistically and exhibiting in Los Angeles since the early 90’s, at times experiencing great success and other times having periods of rebuilding. I think I’m like a lot of artists who never stop working their process and to me that is the key. I’m proud of my longevity and interest in evolving as an artist. Putting myself in circumstances that allow me to experiment, explore other communities and collaborate informs my studio practice.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I would say, and perhaps because I have recently had some wonderful experiences, access to information about artists residencies. There are a multitude of resources now for finding either local or international residencies. So many of them are geared towards specific interests and depending on your medium and concepts there are some very uniques opportunities to explore.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I consider being a good listener a lovely attribute to have as a person but as an artist, in order to truly follow my own journey, I have had to learn to silence some of the voices and follow my own instincts. Making art is subjective but when you are a developing artist, you look for feedback, and it becomes hard to filter what to keep and what to shed. As important as it is to be open, if you can unlearn your own habit or need to be reassured that what you are making is “good” or “working” you can avoid a lot of self sabotaging. It’s taken time and experience but shifting how I listen in regards to my work has helped me stay the course and find my path as an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elizabethtinglof.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethtinglof/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.tinglof/