This past summer, Liz Nelson traveled out West with her family for three weeks. During this journey, they hiked, camped, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of ten national parks (among a few other locations in Colorado, Arizona, and Utah). Upon her return, Nelson drew inspiration from these experiences –feeling the heat of the sun, seeing the bright intensity of the stars at night, perceiving the vastness of the imposing scenery– and embarked on a mission to create work that reflected the ethos of these destinations. The realization of her efforts, Elemental, hangs in Hank & Dolly’s Gallery during the month of February and features over a dozen mixed-media woodcut canvases that blend both illustrative and abstract stylings with found objects, colors, shapes, and textures.

Liz Nelson, (from left to right) *Stalwart, Vast, Meander*, mixed media on wood

Nelson is a friendly face at the Harrison Center, where she has been a resident artist since the late aughts. As a child, she developed a passion for drawing, which grew into a love of painting during a high school watercolor class. At Indiana Wesleyan University, she found synergy with the immediacy, vibrancy, and intensity of painting with acrylics. She graduated with degrees in painting and illustration and has since created work that mixes these mediums. Her style is often in flux, depending on what’s inspiring her at the moment. Elemental represents Nelson’s current impulse to create semi-abstract work reflective of her outdoor travels.

Liz Nelson, *Boundless*, mixed media on wood

In Boundless, the viewer is confronted with the looming enormity of an earthen-toned abstract shape that mirrors the canyons and monoliths found throughout the western national parks. Behind the organic formation, dotted stars illuminate a pitch-black sky, and milky thread weaves together constellations. The use of thread (and in other works throughout the show, wire) adds texture to the compositions. The pieces aren’t quite literal representations of her travels, but they also aren’t entirely abstract, either. Instead, Nelson has rendered the works using a healthy mix of figurative and conceptual practices, bridging the gap between the physicality of experiencing the elements and the intangible feelings accompanying said encounters.

In all, Elemental is an exciting body of work that illustrates the artist’s innovative application of multiple mediums. The dramatic compositions go far in their mission to convey the difficult-to-capture feelings of experiencing natural wonder. The pieces are on display for view and purchase in Hank & Dolly’s during gallery hours from 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. All work is additionally available for purchase via our online gallery.