Artist spotlight on....

Earth Spirits
by Elizabeth Ashe & Bill Hollingsworth

Whimsical Earth Spirit masks are created by Elizabeth Ashe and her husband Bill Hollingsworth in their studio/home overlooking the Shenandoah River in Virginia. The natural beauty of their surroundings provides an inspiration for their work as well as the resource for the natural material they use to decorate their pieces. Earth Spirits masks reflect their deep respect of the Earth as well as a playful sense of humor. All of nature was held sacred by our ancestors in cultures the world over. Every stream, mountain, plant, creature, wind or rainfall was believed to possess a unique spirit. These masks serve as a reminder of the primitive wisdom of those ancestors. Each mask has been individually sculpted from earthware clay, and decorated using a variety of mushrooms, lichens, mosses, or other vegetation, and most recently things from the sea.