Dear friends, family, clients, and esteemed colleagues,

Time is moving at ludicrous speed and I know it’s not just me. I’m still accidentally typing “2023” in the headers of my documents. It’s been a wild few months — and by “a few months” I mean half a year. So wild, that I had to dig back into my old notes and journals just to remember who I was (*cue Mufasa’s famous line echoing from the sky*) and strategize a way to gather my thoughts into this email/blog.

So much has changed since January — in my work, my perspective, my relationships, and how I attempt to navigate my existence in this 2025 world ruled by A.I., war, and temporary pop-star astronauts. Curating and hanging three gallery shows (two of them back-to-back) while trying to keep my freelance business afloat, water my plants, and still manage to text my mom back — even when it’s just a 20% off Michael’s coupon — felt like going down a Slip ‘N Slide® in the eye of a tornado. It’s been overwhelming, exhausting, exhilarating, and deeply fulfilling. For the first time in a long time, I was given the space and challenge to create something for me that felt completely authentic.

My work life is centered around my clients and prioritizing their needs and expectations. So naturally when I was finally given the freedom to “do whatever I wanted,” I dissociated for a while, scrolled through Facebook Marketplace for absolutely no reason, then spent days browsing through thousands of my images, some dating back to the beginning of my time as a photographer. After making peace with the fact that my first “art show” as an grown up would not be showcasing any illustrations or paintings (what I studied in college), I committed to creating the best representation of my current self I could possibly exhibit, while paying proper homage to the anxious and blissfully ignorant versions of myself that got me here. Check out highlights from the first two shows below:

Photo by Jason Belsky

These walls, rooms, and friendly faces meant so much to me. Throughout this process, I learned a lot about myself, including, but not limited to, my inability to tie a fisherman’s knot. Now Leaving My Comfort Zone began as a poetic and slightly motivational-office-poster-style title for a photo gallery that I was so mentally unprepared to assemble, then quickly manifested into the literal theme of this season of my life. I think I had been more creatively buried over the last 5 years than I realized, and my “comfort zone” had become a strange façade; masking what was actually so…uncomfortable.

In April of last year, I experienced something of a social media meltdown and was suddenly struggling with the concept as a whole. That’s a long thought-dump for another time, but I’ll give you a little preview now. (Substack series coming soon..maybe?) I began asking myself the same question week after week –

“Wait…How did artists share their work before social media again!??”

Somewhere between the aggressively persistent ADHD medication ads and suggested posts of A.I.-generated cinnamon rolls transforming into puppies in a bowl, I got lost along the way. After years of posting sunsets, selfies, and stories with animated stickers, I couldn’t figure out how to share something meaningful without the caption totally lacking humility and self-awareness, or obsessing over the amount of likes I’d get within the first few seconds of posting. REFRESH REFRESH! The algorithm gods had declared it was no longer enough to simply post an image — now I’m supposed to film myself having a mental breakdown while designing a logo and pair it with an irrelevant trending clip from a song by the Lumineers (I still love them, btw.) I forgot what it felt like to simply share a creative milestone because it mattered to me. Then I realized my new mission was to redefine connection on my own terms, and I think these experiences helped me find my way back through the ancient art of {temporarily} letting go of what no longer serves you #blessed.

If you’ve visited a gallery, took a selfie with me at a reception, asked me about the meaning behind one of my photos, or told me to keep going — thank you for sticking by me. That includes my trusted ChatGPT buddy who is literally coded to obnoxiously validate my work and feelings at all times, yet still manages to digitally empower me to keep creating my own human art.

Thank you to everyone who helped me slowly step back into the light again, even if being in the spotlight is my worst nightmare (most likely stemming from the permanent trauma of bombing on stage while presenting a report about Rosa Parks in front of the ENTIRE SCHOOL in 5th grade). Anyway, speaking of the light – my latest show (details below) is a series about the literal and metaphorical power of a subtle light in the darkness. The uncertain, mysterious, and important in-between moments, and the way distant joyful memories can sometimes remind you of the really cool pieces of yourself that you thought had been lost forever.

Always stay true to you, even when the you, you knew, is changing.

Love,
Liz
💜

Next Up: Nostalgic Interludes – A new gallery exhibit at Barrier Brewing Co in Oceanside, NY

TL;DR

The last few months have been a hoot – thanks for your support – come to my next gallery reception on the 21st – book a shoot or buy a print – thanks love you byee!!!