By Elizabeth Brannon
Local resident Lisa Chittenden is a mixed media, assemblage and photography artist who is equally at home creating 3D and 2D art. She is also the current president of the Visual Art League of Lewisville. Fortunately for us, Lisa’s works can be seen on the Flower Mound Art Wall from now until the end of September. On Tuesday, Sept. 24, there will be a Meet & Greet with Lisa at Flower Mound Town Hall from 6 – 7:30 p.m. You have to see her works in person to really appreciate the layering and merging of unconventional objects that make Lisa’s work unique. Listening to Lisa speak about her inspiration and creative process is fascinating.
Lisa says art came to her later in life – when she was in her mid-50s. She is a 41-years-married mother of two adult sons, who worked as an administrator in the medical industry before art came calling. She had no background or formal education in art, but Lisa says that means there are no rules she has to follow as she creates her works. She says her art experiences prove it’s never too late to find and express your creativity. Despite her unlikely background, she wins art awards and sells her works.
In 2016, Lisa was introduced to the work of an abstract assemblage artist and it inspired Lisa to become an assemblage artist herself. Prior to that, Lisa had been successful in photography and mixed media work. She freely mixes soft and hard materials to build what Lisa says are intuitive works. Most of her assemblage works have many pieces to them, which means the works are constantly evolving and are intense to create. One of Lisa’s works is entitled “FUSION,” which is an apt description of Lisa’s art – “the process or result of joining two or more things together to form a single entity.”
Lisa assembles her layered and textured collages from the bottom up – using an assortment of objects like nails, beads, spray foam, metal, wood, sand, mesh, fibers, wax, cogs, gears, sprocket plates, soaked paper and unconventional items. She doesn’t sketch her work out first because she enjoys playing, experimenting and problem solving with the components of the art in front of her. She loves the layering process and watching how the pieces all come together to create one-of-a-kind art that is “quirky,” which is how Lisa describes her own sense of humor.
When she’s not creating art, Lisa promotes and supports the arts through many opportunities in addition to her membership in the Visual Art League of Lewisville, where she has been an active member of the board of directors since 2019 and is in the middle of her two-year term as president. Later this year, we will devote an entire column to the Visual Art League of Lewisville and its recent growth, its history of excellence and what it offers to artists, the public, students and art patrons.
Lisa’s works are unconventional, quirky and abstract, and the story behind each work is an important part of her story. Lisa embraces the impact of art in her life and in the world. She learns from failure, understands the need to be focused and strong as a creative, and enjoys how art engages all of our senses as it weaves a story. One of Lisa’s works is called “SHE WARRIOR,” a work that interprets the strength of women. Lisa certainly is a She Warrior, and we’re lucky to have this independent creative as a part of our art community.
Elizabeth Brannon serves on the Flower Mound Cultural Arts Commission.
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