In the Studio With Artist Elizabeth Keithline

INSIDE+OUT Upstate NY is thrilled to present a new series, “In the Studio With…,” a captivating journey into the lives of the creative souls living and working in the Hudson Valley.  In collaboration with Hudson Valley creatives Richard Hall and Mimi Young, founders of the video company littlebitcreates, we will release a monthly feature showcasing diverse artists as they share their work, processes, and deep love for their craft.

We launch our series with the multi-disciplinary artist Elizabeth Keithline. We discovered her remarkable work at the Jane Street Art Center in Saugerties, New York, during her Breaking Broken show this past year. One of our favorite moments in the video by Mimi and Richard is when Elizabeth energetically pounds away at a piece of wood, falling back in laughter at the effort it takes to shape her vision.

We hope you enjoy this series, our exclusive interview with Elizabeth and the video. Let’s get started!

INSIDE+OUT: Where are you originally from and how did you wind up in the Hudson Valley?

Elizabeth Keithline: I grew up in central Connecticut. My husband Jeff and I moved to Rhode Island in the late eighties and to the Hudson Valley in 2019.

Whenever one of our three kids got their driver’s license, Jeff would take them to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland so that they could practice their driving on a long road trip with him. Each time he did this, they would pass through Woodstock, NY to see a musician friend. Jeff got to know the town and when it was time for us to move, we Googled “art and music towns.” Woodstock came right up and Jeff thought, “Liz might like this town.”

We visited Woodstock on one blazing hot August day, sat down for lunch at Yum Yum in the center of everything, looked around and said, “Yeah, this could be it.” We couldn’t be happier with our home, (and finally, a studio with a bathroom!).

What inspired you to become an artist and what was your journey?

I’ve been a weaver since I was fourteen. In 1996, I was looking for a way to weave in 3-D and invented a sculpture technique that I called Lost Box, (a pun on the term Lost Wax), where metal wire is woven around a cardboard or wooden form and then burnt out, leaving behind a wire “memory” of the now absent shape.

I wasn’t really looking to become an artist, but as things developed, my work got larger and I started showing and selling it. I wove a full-scale upright piano and bench, a post and beam house and even a 1969 Dodge Charger. As time went on, I didn’t want to burn anymore (because it was too polluting), so I altered the technique by clipping down the spine of the sculptures, peeling the wires off the form and then rejoining them.

I like ideas. I started to focus on human self-extension – systems of all kinds: architecture, car culture, technology – and I began to curate conceptually related shows of other artists’ work alongside my solo efforts because I discovered that whenever I was focused on an idea, I saw it everywhere. I discovered that artists are part of the zeitgeist, and often, many different people are thinking about something at the same time. I enjoy that collaboration. I find that it confirms that I’m onto something, that we’re onto something.

Can you explain how living in the Hudson Valley affects the work you create?

When we moved from Rhode Island, we gave up a 40′ x 60′ barn, so having a good studio was really important. I began to cast shadows through the wire sculptures I was making and sometimes I would trace the shadows onto canvas and paint them. This quickly became important because soon after we moved to Woodstock, I got into a conversation with Jen Hicks, the artist and owner of Jane Street Art Center in Saugerties. Jen was willing to take a chance on me, first with Sculpture And Shadow Painting in 2021 and then with Breaking Broken in 2024. Jen lived in Boston for a time, but she is a risk-taking entrepreneur in the New York mold. There are a lot of very strong arts administrators up here and she’s definitely one of them. My proximity to New York City has also boosted my career, as I’ve had three solo shows in the city in four years.

Furthermore, I was very lucky to serve for three years as the Exhibitions Director at the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum (WAAM), which was basically a crazy crash course in Hudson Valley artists. I met a lot of people who either showed at or juried shows for WAAM, which made it really fun and interesting to work there. I made a lot of friends.

Since Jeff is a bass player, we’ve also met people on the music side of things. That’s also been a fast track to knowing a fair amount of people, but still, we’re really both just getting started. We meet new people in the arts almost every day.

Where do you find the greatest inspiration for your work?

For me, the opportunity to express ideas visually is everywhere. Having a family was and continues to be a rich, deepening experience. The natural world is a place where we are lucky to spend a fair amount of time. I love organic forms. But I also love the news and newspapers. I love contemporary life. Even when the news is bad, or perhaps especially when it’s bad, human life is fascinating.

What has most excited you recently about your creative process or a specific work?

I like to learn. Sculptors need to be able to make whatever they think of, so my life has been one long exploration of fibers, metal casting & forging, color theory, sculpture and public art fabrication.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about destruction, particularly human self-destruction, which is kind of the opposite of human self-extension.

• Why do human beings continue to destroy, either through acts of war, environmental damage or other?
• Will it be possible for us to become more conscious and do less damage, or is destruction just a hard-wired necessity of life?

Has your work changed over time?

My work is always evolving. The upside of this is that I’m never bored. The downside is that it’s work to reinvent myself. I’m very lucky to have the life that I have, but it’s a constant challenge.

How do you define success as an artist?

I want to know that I’ve gotten an idea across and I want to execute it at a high level. If viewers see an exhibition of mine and they understand what I’m trying to convey, then I feel I’ve succeeded. Before moving here, I made money through stipends that I received for installing my large-scale installations. Up here, I also sell small works. I don’t make a lot, but it’s nice to know that someone thinks enough of the work to want to hang it in their home.

Tell us something about yourself people would be surprised to know.

When I was 16 years old, I drove a banana-yellow Volkswagen Thing. VW Things came apart. You could remove everything from the chassis, the doors and even the windshield. Once, I was driving my deconstructed car home from a local swimming hole and a cop pulled me over for speeding and made me get out of the car. I was wearing nothing but a bikini. He dismissed me quickly, telling me to get home safely. Times were different!

Why is creative expression important for the world?

I see creative expression as a big bucket into which artists put tiny drops. Little by little, every day, that bucket is filling up with all of our ideas until gradually it spills over and the world evolves.

And for you personally?

I like to learn. I like to make things. I like to collaborate. I like to convey ideas. I feel that even if you miss the mark, it’s important to show that you care enough to contribute.

Photos Courtesy of Elizabeth Keithline + Peter Goldberg + Meryl Meisler + Thomas Palmer (Featured Photo)

Follow + Connect with Elizabeth Keithline via Website | Facebook | Instagram

Click HERE to see all of our exclusive interviews with the amazing folks who proudly call the Hudson Valley home.

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About littlebitcreates

Richard Hall and Mimi Young are the creative forces behind littlebitcreates. They produce a variety of projects, including in-depth artist profiles, event-specific promotional videos, and music videos. Their approach is exciting, innovative, and contemporary.In addition to their client work, Hall and Young collaborate with other creatives to create multidimensional, neo-surreal videos as part of a noncommercial venture. littlebitcreates emerged from the extensive knowledge Hall and Young gained over 30 years of experience in photo shoots and multimedia art. They exclusively shoot all of their videos on iPhones, appreciating the distinctive aesthetic it produces and the comfort it offers their subjects in front of the camera.

Follow + Connect wiht littlebitcreates via Website | Vimeo | @littlebitcreates