Local fibers artist, Mom, teacher, and self-described “community spirit” Elizabeth Morisette is an avid collector of things. Her whimsical pieces – often made up of everyday objects – are woven, sewn, felted, tied, and stapled sculptures that exemplify the art of transformation. She graciously took time between shows, classes and selling her house to answer some questions. Enjoy.

Shoe In (35"x12"; cotton fabric and shoe stretchers woven on a cotton warp), Portrait of the artist, Keep This Coupon (20" x 8" x 4"; tickets, thread, and glue).

Please introduce yourself.
My name is Elizabeth Morisette. I currently live in Greenbelt, Maryland, but my family is moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, this summer. I work for Arts for the Aging providing arts programming to senior citizens. I have a husband and an 8-year-old daughter.

What do you do outside of making your own art?
I teach art to whomever I can. I especially love doing intergenerational community projects that pull people from all ages, races and socio-economic backgrounds together in the process of creating art.

Why did you pursue becoming an artist?
I always had my own way of doing things. I remember one time when I was about 8 years old spending an entire day wrapping my friends swing set with yarn. Her Mom called early the next morning demanding that I come and unwrap the swing set. I had as much fun unwrapping as I had wrapping the swing set! I have seen things this way ever since.

What is your process like? How do you begin a piece?
I always start with the materials. I gather bits of collections from people, on Ebay, at thrift stores. Then I find a way to make them visually interesting. I try to use only one item, like, say, bottle caps, and maybe wire or something to bind them together. Then, I experiment with different ways they can relate to each other.

What do you do to promote your art?
I have a blog and Flickr site. I have just recently become represented by Heineman-Myers Contemporary Art in Bethesda, Maryland.

Stance (8"x10" x5"; zippers and thread), Beauty School Dropout (40"x25"x3"; Cotton fabric and warp with plastic hair rollers), Blister (20"x40"x3"; plastic blister packaging and glue).

At the moment, Elizabeth is building a sculpture out of grocery bags for the Virgin Festival. She also has several pieces in the show "Art From Trash" at the Baltimore Public Works Museum, currently on exhibit until Oct. 6; Pier 7 of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor at 751 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore.