For several years I've been building a body of work based on my exploration of found and recycled materials. I've taken up the process of hand grinding pigments, and building on this tradition I'm developing new ways of appropriating this ancient technique. My materials are hand ground with a mortar and pestle and then packed into a rock tumbler for hundreds of hours to produce a powder that can be easily suspended in a liquid binder. Powdered eggshells leftover from my breakfast produce a creamy and versatile white. Mussel shells collected from local beaches are pounded into a lavender gray. From earth gathered at distant locations, to materials collected in my own back yard, my paintings are inspired by place and then made with the place itself. Education 2007 MFA in process at Otis College of Art and Design 1997 B.A. Art History, U.C.L.A. 1997 University of Georgia Field Excavation, Carthage, Tunisia. 1993 Churchill College of the Arts, Cambridge University, England. Gallery Affiliation Galerie Davide Gallo, Berlin, Germany William Turner Gallery, Bergamot Station, Los Angeles Solo Exhibitions 2007 Bloom, Elizabeth Paige Smith, Venice CA. 2004 Ground, William Turner Gallery, Bergamot Station, Los Angeles. 2003 Topography, t h e s a n d b o x, Venice, CA. 2003 New Paintings, Highways Upstairs Gallery, Los Angeles. 2003 Cavings, t h e s a n d b o x, Venice, CA. Group Exhibitions 2008 GLAMFA, CSULB 2008 Best in Show, ISM Long Beach, CA. 2007 Long Beach Museum, Art Auction VII 2007 Family Garden, Elizabeth Paige Smith Atelier, Venice CA. 2006 Flow, curated by Peter Frank, Riverside Art Museum 2005 Flow, Curated by Peter Frank, Berman Turner Projects, Bergamot Station 2005 Twenty One, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA. 2005 California Visions, Art AuctionXI, Long Beach Museum 2004 The Art of Paint, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA. Art Fairs 2007 Art Fiera, Bologna, Italy. 2006 Preview Berlin, Emerging Art Fair, Berlin Germany Scholarships and Awards 1997 UCLA Department of Classics Travel Grant for fieldwork in Classical Archaeology. Bibliography Peter Frank, "Going With The Flow" ART LTD, March 2008 Shana Nys-Dambrot, “Made in Los Angeles” Tema Celeste, January/February 2006. Peter Frank, “Ground at William Turner Gallery,” Art Week, December/January, 2004-2005 Shana Nys-Dambrot, “What if Vermeer Were an Abstract Expressionist,” Coagula Art Journal, Spring, 2003