Liz Mitchell is a multi-media artist based in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Her diverse body of work spans over three decades and reflects her deep engagement with themes of religion, mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. Graduating from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in social work, Mitchell began her career in child protective services. To offset this difficult work, she pursued ceramics at Raritan Valley Community College, sparking a lifelong passion for art.

In 1990, she founded Glazed Expressions, where she sold her work at art fairs and wholesale markets, while also teaching workshops at art centers and colleges throughout the mid-Atlantic region. As a testament to her commitment to the arts and education, Mitchell served as vice-chair of the Foundation Board at Raritan Valley Community College for ten years, during which she was awarded an honorary Arts Degree.

Mitchell’s artistic journey evolved as she was introduced to artist books, and eventually site specific installations. A significant milestone occurred in 2003 when she was invited to participate in an artist laboratory at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Here, she produced the visual book "More Than Stone and Mortar," documenting her great-grandfather’s role in building the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ. This work marked the beginning of a series of artist residencies at Lafayette, resulting in numerous artist books that reside in the collections of the Experimental Printmaking Institute and Skillman Library, with select pieces traveling globally through the Institute's outreach and the work of Curlee Raven Holton.

In her curation of the 2006 exhibition "Miraviglia” at Lafayette College, Easton PA, she emphasized the limitless potential of book structures to evoke wonder and discovery through the 43 artists in the exhibition. This spirit permeates her artistic practice, which integrates book arts, printmaking, and sculpture to narrate complex stories. Her artwork is characterized by a multi-layered approach, both in content and construction, employing a variety of materials and techniques.

In 2020 Mitchell showcased her work at the Moulin Du Got, a medieval paper mill in St. Leonard de Noblat, France, where she installed her site-specific piece, the Butterfly Kimono, as part of the exhibition "Influences Nipponese."

Liz Mitchell's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and can be found in collections, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt, Pennsylvania Power and Light, Johnson & Johnson Corporate Headquarters, the Allergan Corporate Art Collection, Hunterdon Medical Center and institutions such as Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, Lafayette College Experimental Printmaking Institute and Skillman Library, Seton Hall University, College of St. Elizabeth, William Paterson University and Telavi State University in the Republic of Georgia.Liz Mitchell works out of her studio in central New Jersey. She is a multi-media artist who uses a broad range of materials and processes to satisfy her creative curiosity and tell her visual stories. She uses innovative layering techniques to create her installations, collages and mono prints. The scale of her work ranges from small handmade books to site specific installations. Her work considers the intersection of nature and the human condition through metaphor, mythology, religion and fairy tales.

She has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally in group and solo exhibitions for over 30 years most recently at Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, NJ. Her work is included in the collections of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in Alexandria, Egypt; Pennsylvania Power and Light; Johnson and Johnson WHQ, Allergan Corporate Art Collection, William Paterson University, The Experimental Printmaking Institute and Skillman Library at Lafayette College, Seton Hall University,The College of St. Elizabeth and the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library among others.

“I look to nature for a richness of content and surface textures and emulate these characteristics through my varied materials and processes. Within this visual context I investigate elements of human nature which moves us to ask questions and consider the peculiar and odd using themes found in religion, folklore and fairy tales.”

Watch my video below to see a variety of work and a description of my process: