We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Liz Rundorff Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Liz, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
It was definitely a lot easier to take big risks before I had kids. So the story of the biggest risk I have taken – or the last biggest risk I’ve taken involved moving to Greenville, SC on my own in 2006. I had just finished the MFA program at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. My parents had moved south and I wanted to leave Pennsylvania winters behind but I had no idea what I would do for work or where I would end up. On a national job search I found a job opening for Visual Artist Manager of the Artisphere festival in Greenville, SC. I applied thinking I was capable but really didn’t think working for an art festival was what I wanted to do. I got the job with Artisphere, moved to Greenville by myself, loved the city and my job, and ended up working for the festival for ten very important years. I learned so much about art as a business model, managing a non profit, marketing, organizing an event . . . I left Artisphere in 2016 to spend more time on my own painting but I know that the job with Artisphere made me a better artist and a smarter business owner.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a painter, primarily working in large scale abstraction in oil as well as the encaustic medium. I was born in Greenville, PA but now call Travelers Rest, SC home. I received a BA in Studio Art with a concentration in sculpture from the College of Wooster in Wooster, OH and an MFA in Painting from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. I also studied abroad at The Marchutz School of Painting in Aix en Provence, France and the British Institute of Florence in Florence, Italy and was awarded a fellowship and residency at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts in 2005. My work can be found in private and corporate collections including the Marilyn Monroe Bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel and Sun City Showa Kien Koen, Tachikawa, Japan. I am a member of the Painting Center Art File in New York. My work has been featured in publications including Southern Living, Create Magazine Issue 20, and All She Makes. Recent exhibitions include the two-person show Counterbalance at Susan Eley Fine Art New York, NY, The Shape of Things at 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, SC, Street Garden, a solo exhibition at the Florence County Museum Waters Gallery, and Coined in the South: 2022, at the Mint Museum Uptown, Charlotte, NC. I am represented by Art & Light Gallery in Greenville, SC.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think it’s hard for the non-creatives in my life to understand why I spend so much time and money on my work as an artist. I realized at some point that if I continued to let other people dictate how I spend my time I was never going to commit to working as an artist. As a mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend who also works it feels self indulgent at times to spend money that is not necessary on art supplies and my studio. I also take time away from my family when I need to be in the studio. But I believe in myself and my ability to find success on my own terms. The life of an artist doesn’t end so the commitment I’m making to my practice today is nurturing a practice I hope to have until then end of my life. It’s a long slow road that is a lifetime commitment but an artist has to be self-driven to continuing investing in a meaningful practice.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Just the time spent working is rewarding for me. I tried for many years to figure out what would make me feel fulfilled and content. It seemed like the things I thought would bring me joy didn’t, and I then felt guilty for not being totally fulfilled as a wife and mother. I feel the most in my element when I’m painting and just that time is the greatest reward. I can bring all of my frustrations and fears and insecurities to painting and find a way to work through the most difficult emotions and experiences in my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lizrundorffsmith.com
- Instagram: @lizrundorffsmithstudio
- Facebook: @lizrundorffsmithstudio
Image Credits
studio images from Sara Touchet Photography – https://saratouchetphotography.com/ images of artwork by Eli Warren – https://www.eliwarren.com/