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About Mitsuye |
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I grew up in a house in Tokyo, Japan that was filled with contemporary Japanese prints. Growing up, it seemed that wherever I went in that neighborhood, there was beautiful art. In the subway stations, there would be beautiful flower arrangements; whether or not I noticed them all as a child, I don't remember. At department stores, there were always art exhibits that my parents used to take us to. Japanese "washi" paper was also everywhere. From the wrapping paper of something you bought in the store to folding origami paper at home with my mother, beautiful paper was everywhere. I started to cover eggs with washi paper many years ago, and later began using washi to make simple jewelry — like earrings made of origami cranes using washi paper. Then one day, I saw a piece of washi paper with a print of sumo wrestlers on them. Something about that paper made me want to take it home with me. I didn't know what I would do with it at the time, and it sat in my house for a while. I put it up on a wall and looked at it for days, which later became weeks. Something then spoke to me. My process is extremely obsessive. It allows me to utilize the imagery of the papers in creative ways. I spend time thinking about how to reconfigure the "static scenes" into something more dramatic. I decide to make a fan shape. Then the process begins. The pieces are all cut apart and rearranged into a three dimensional fan. Raised in Tokyo, Liz Horwitz (also known by her middle name, Mitsuye) came to the United States to attend college, and has lived here ever since. She attended Colby College in Maine, where she focused on the arts, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in music. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and two children. In addition to creating washi eggs and other artwork, Mitsuye plays the flute and the double bass, and performs in several musical groups, including the Willow Flute Ensemble (www.willowfluteensemble.com), the Mood Swings Orchestra (www.themoodswings.org), Soft Touch Dance Band (www.softtouchband.org), Calliope (www.calliopemusic.org) and the Civic Symphony Orchestra of Boston (www.csob.org). Photo by Ali Horwitz |
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© Copyright Liz Mitsuye Horwitz, 2005 - . All rights reserved. |