Active on Insta as @elaurel87 and @elmcontemporary @todayinjasper Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, with a Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) in Fine Arts from the University of Windsor, Beth is an interdisciplinary artist. Using conceptual photography, found objects, paint, the hand written word and everyday objects to express emotions, visually. How she sees life and the world around her is reflected in the shifting narratives of each piece. "I don't limit myself to a specific medium. I like to find things, objects, like little pieces of a life that don't exist anymore, and give them value and a storyline again. I see into nature as it allows me to be in its presence - and I find letting go of expectation allows me to see things that others may not. I've been on a healing journey with nature for 6 years now and nature reminds me of how beautiful life really is. " “My work is very emotional. I’m a very emotional person - I put my heart and soul into everything I do. Old soul, young at heart. SO, it makes sense that I feel a connection to each artwork I make. Every material I work with has to do with the idea of a moment. I look for the beauty in everything. This is how I want to see the world. Hurt is also beautiful, and so is trauma. Pain is beautiful, destruction and death...it's all beautiful in it's own way. And I want to make beautiful things, so nature and life inspires me constantly. I want to share, with you, the beauty in everything I see, even if you don't see it right away." "When I paint, I have to stop myself and give back the control to the paint. There are no mistakes in art. Every stroke has a purpose, every colour has a feeling and finding ways to connect that all together is what I'm aiming for. I do not like to paint with intention. I take photographs with intention, but with paint, I really am consciously trying to let go of what I want the canvas to become and allow it to evolve in whatever way it does. Painting teaches me a lot - patience, mostly. Life lessons, actually. "I welcome each viewer of my work to start an internal conversation with their self. What do you feel? Why do you feel that way and where in your unconscious does that comes from? A memory, maybe. Specifically with my photography, I'm drawn to the ethereal in nature. The fleeting light on a leaf, a shadow. A flicker of sunlight and motion bouncing through the creek. A lone leaf and the dusting of fresh snow in the wind in the sunlight. My photographs carry a feeling a nostalgia - a feeling of calmness and a timelessness. I aim to interject that calmness with reality in my future and projected work. Adding in found objects, nails, things from the past. How does it alter the feeling and the unconsciousness that you allowed in. Looking at "Heartless", a rusted nail piercing the gold leaf. A lot of symbolism metastasizes as you break it down into each object and it's purpose in this photograph. There's a romantic drama occurring - like Romeo & Juliet. There's passion, action and heartbreak. There's human ego in the gold and tragedy in the nail as it becomes a symbol of loss, in the moment I pierced it. Using a real leaf, suffocating it in a chemical based plastic to resemble the aesthetic of GOLD. Giving it the illusion of value and then taking it away. Realizing we are the poison to our own self - the true destroyer of all that we know and have - ego." Current themes include climate change, mental health, spirituality, feminism, love, loss, self-worth and mental health. She is currently located in Jasper, Alberta with her 4 year old rescue, Zeke.