About

I had the good fortune to grow up in Austin, Texas. Starting from the time I was about six years old, my mother would take my twin brothers and me to Laguna Gloria to explore the grounds. She loved the tropical feeling of the landscape there – the palmettos mixed in with the live oaks and the water plants growing along the lake shore. I found these explorations in the wilds of Laguna Gloria thrilling. They helped form in me a deeply held philosophy of natural discovery and a fascination with the insects and plants I encountered there.

Many of my photographic series attempt to capture in images what I felt as a child exploring the wonderfully uncultivated parts of Laguna Gloria and nearby Mayfield Park. I loved watching insects move about their territories and enjoyed thinking about what they might see. How would it differ from our sight? For instance, if we had a dog's sense of hearing or smell, our experience of our surroundings would be completely different. These differences in perception create parallel worlds, which can overlap when we humans look carefully at the small creatures sharing this place with us.

Photography helps this process because it captures instances and details we cannot physically catch with unaided eyesight. For me, photography is magic – a way to convey a feeling, an image from a dream, or a tiny creature's beautiful details that lie just beyond the capabilities of our human vision.

Stephen L. Clark Gallery represents my work.

All photos above © Elizabeth V. Williams

Awards

SCHOLARSHIP

  • David McCosh Memorial Scholarship, University of Oregon Department of Fine Arts, 2000
  • Edilia and François-Auguste de Montêquin Fellowship, Society of Architectural Historians, 1997
  • Marian C. Donnelly Prize for Excellence in Scholarship, University of Oregon Art History Dept., 1997
  • France Welcomes Young America Program representative for the University of Texas, 1987
  • Phi Beta Kappa, 1986
  • Recipient of 27 other scholarships and awards. Member of 3 additional honor societies.

TENNIS

  • NCAA All-American, Division One, Tennis, 1985
  • University of Texas Women’s Varsity Tennis, full athletic scholarship, 1984 - 1989
  • GTE Academic All-American, 1986
  • Highest NCAA national rankings: #4 (team), #11 (doubles)
  • Highest United States Tennis Association national amateur rankings: #1 (doubles), #4 (singles)

Education

Master of Fine Arts, Photography, University of Oregon, 2001 (GPA 4.06)

Corso Internazionale sull’Architettura di Andrea Palladio, Vicenza, Italy, 1998

Master of Arts, Art History, University of Oregon, 1997 (GPA 4.07)

  • Thesis: Carlos Vierra and the Origins of the Spanish Pueblo Revival Style
  • Concentrations in Italian Renaissance and Baroque architecture and the architecture of the American Southwest.

Bachelor of Science, Interior Design, with Highest Honors, University of Texas at Austin, 1989 (GPA 4.0)

Bachelor of Arts, with Highest Honors, University of Texas at Austin, 1989 (GPA 4.0)

  • Valedictorian, College of Natural Sciences, 1989

Collections and Shows

COLLECTIONS

  • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
  • University Public Art Collection, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
  • Worcester Museum of Art, Worcester, Massachusetts
  • Special Collections, Bailey/Howe Library, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont
  • Ginny’s Printing Corporate Offices, Austin, Texas

SOLO SHOWS

  • Fairyland, Women and Their Work (off-site gallery), August - September 2005
  • Biota, Folio Gallery, Texas Tech University School of Art, Lubbock, Texas, January 2005
  • Fairyland and Biota, Highland Gallery, Marfa, Texas, August - October 2004
  • Biota, Women and Their Work, Austin, Texas, August 2003
  • refuge meditation desire, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, Texas, July 2003
  • Emerald and Other Avenues, Else Madsen Gallery, Austin, Texas, May 2003
  • Emerald and Other Avenues, Joseph Raj Gallery, Austin, Texas, December 2001-January 2002

GROUP SHOWS

  • Jayne Hinds Bidaut & Diana Dopson, Stephen Clark Gallery, Austin, Texas, October-November 2004
  • Laguna Gloria Grounded, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, Texas, October 2007-October 2009
  • Austin City Hall Art Exhibition 2008, Austin, Texas, February 2008-February 2009
  • FotoFest Show, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, Texas, March 2008, 2006, 2004
  • Red Revisited, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, Texas, December 2008, 2007
  • Arthouse 5x7 Exhibition, Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin, Texas, May 2010, 09, 07, 06, 05, 04, 03
  • New to View: Recent Acquisitions in Photography, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA, Dec 05-April 06
  • Something Red, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, Texas, December 2006, 2005, 2004
  • Austin City Hall Art Exhibition 2005, Austin, Texas, February 2005-February 2006
  • 2005 Print Auction Exhibition, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, Texas, January-February 2005
  • Gallery Artists, McMurtrey Gallery, August, 2004
  • Midtown Marfa Art Gallery, Group Show, March-April 2004
  • Austin Museum of Art, Art Ball VIII Auction, Austin, Texas, February, 2004
  • Women and Their Work: Off Site/On Target, Austin City Lofts, Austin, Texas, January 2004 (Curator: Rebecca Cohen, author of Art Guide Texas)
  • Something Blue, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, Texas, December 2003
  • New American Talent, Arthouse, Austin, Texas, June 2003-Summer 2005 (Curator: Dominic Molon, Associate Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago)
  • New American Talent additional venues: Stark Galleries at Texas A&M University, Landmark Arts Gallery at Texas Tech University, and the Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, Texas
  • Summer Art Show, Joseph Raj Gallery, Austin, Texas, August 2002
  • MFA/01, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon, July-August 2001