Meet Elizabeth Hilton | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Hilton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
I think I am most happy when i find ways to get outside of myself. Immersing in nature, a vigorous bike ride or yoga session, and then of course when i am creating art. Whether i have moments where i doubt my talent or the financial sacrifices that go hand in hand with being an artist, I know it is right where I’m meant to be because of that feeling of happiness that comes from embodying the flow state.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I was born in West Boise back when it wasn’t quite suburban sprawl. I received my BFA from Boise State in 2001 with an emphasis in oils and mixed media. My style continued to evolve after school, leaning more toward collage and the use of vintage papers of all kinds; wallpaper, magazines, books, newspapers, maps, sheet music. These remnants from our past contain various nostalgic and sometimes humorous pieces of content, through pictures, advertisements, words and colors that you can’t get from newer paper circulations. The images and type serve as the backdrop and subtle placement throughout my collages.

Life is a process of adding and taking away, over and over again. We learn, we sometimes seem to unlearn, we make mistakes, we change. Layer upon layer, we gouge and scratch and add until we are left with something beautiful for all the stress it has undergone. In many ways I am drawn to recreate this visually through my work. The beauty is in the human journey just as the evolution and creation of art, for me, comes from the “process”. The Art informs me, not the other way around.

By juxtaposing imagery and symbols from past eras with modern perspectives and subject matter, my work prompts viewers to question and rethink outdated norms, fostering internal, and perhaps external, dialogue and understanding in the context of contemporary dilemmas.
I currently work in a studio space at The Common Well in Garden City. And you can find me on my website, EHiltonArt.com or Instagram @EHiltonArt

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite part of Idaho and Boise are its open spaces. Boise City’s foothills are crisscrossed with many hiking and biking trails, and come June, they are bright green and covered in Arrow Leaf Balsam Root flowers. Wildlife abounds and the Boise river and many little creeks and canals flow merrily along. The City is very supportive of local artists and you can find public art around most corners. Pack a cooler and drive in any direction for two hours and you’ll find camping, hot springs, mountains and space to reflect and ground back to the Earth and nature.

A couple of days later, or even that same day, we could head back to town, grab some dinner (KIN’s chef is a James Beard recipient) and then go see some rad band at Boise’s legendary dive bar and music venue, The Neurolux. AND, if we’re not too tired we can ride our bikes home along the Boise River Greenbelt, because hell, in the summer it stays light until 10pm!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Things shifted for me at the beginning of Covid. I made ends meet as a single parent by bartending and teaching yoga, but this left me spread a little thin and less than inspired to create a lot of art. With the bars and restaurants shutting down, my partner, Cameron Tongier, invited my son and I to move in to his small home. I quit bartending and set up “studio” space at the end of a long kitchen table. I was then able to devote as much time as my creativity permitted to making art! Cameron’s love and support led me a couple of years later to being able to rent studio space at a local co-working building called The CommonWell. Owners, Amber Lawless and Katherine Shaughnessy, through this amazing artistic gathering space, further catapulted me to becoming more recognized and successful as well as encouraging me to evolve artistically and professionally.

Website: https://EHiltonArt.com

Instagram: @EHiltonArt

Linkedin: Elizabeth Hilton

Facebook: EHiltonArt

Image Credits
Peter Lovera