Artist's Statment - Elizabeth Williams   "This year I indulged myself by doing whatever I liked in the studio.  I carved Styrofoam.  I made constructions in cardboard and paper mache, and sculptures and forms in clay.  I fooled around with collage a little, and painted in acrylic and gouache. Now, readying for Open Studio, I see streams of connection in my work-mystery, wonder, the powerful wildness of our natures lurking behind the trees.  Several series emerged: The Mountain Climber Series-Women, strange looking women, on a courageous journey into the mountains.   The Horse Series – The wise, sexually powerful horses halted and subdued or doing things un-horselike; potent energy bridled by time constraints, life constraints. The Bears in the Woods – The unseen wild natural forces that dwell within p peeking out, hiding, venturing out; and then when no one can see them, they come out and dance and make merry in privacy and nature. Then there are the “Into the Woods” paintings-women, secure and unself-conscious, naked – merging with the wild and natural, as if they are returning to their unfettered origins, melding with nature; relaxing, accepting, appreciating, and feeling whole."