ELIZABETH SANDVIG is a painter and printmaker who was born in Seattle but grew up in Washington, DC and Mexico City.  She attended Pomona College and Harvard University and started to exhibit in 1961.  Since 1974 she has been exhibiting at Francine Seders Gallery in Seattle, with her most recent show in April/May 2007.  She has had one-person shows at Alysia Duckler Gallery, Portland, OR (2000); Pierce College, Lakewood, WA (1998); Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA (1992) and “Paintings of Palettes”, Gallery II, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, 1991.  Group shows include:  “Elizabeth Sandvig and Michael Spafford”, Clatsop Community College, Astoria, OR (2006);  “pARTners”, Kirkland Arts Center, Kirkland, WA (2005); Shenzhen Art Institute, Shenzhen, China (2005); Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA (2005, 2004, 2003);  “Washington State Convention & Trade Center, Seattle, WA (2004);  “Les Fables de La Fontaine”, touring exhibition in Europe and United States (2002-2004).  In 2006 Elizabeth Sandvig, husband Michael Spafford, and son Spike Mafford, were honored with the Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award, Family of NW Artists and in 2007 received the Twining Humber Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.  Public collections in Seattle, which own her work, include Seattle Art Museum, Safeco, Swedish Hospital, Microsoft, University of Washington, among others.


Artist’s Statement

This show is about experiencing swimming with turtles. 

My experience happened off the coast of
Maui in Hawaii.  The water has a particularly silky feel and is very clear.  The turtles seem very large when you are trying to stay 4 feet away from them and they keep popping up everywhere.  They are very powerful in the water but vulnerable also.  They do not interact like a curious animal but rather keep their distance because they already know all about you. 

In my house we have a land turtle that can teach you about meditation if you watch her for 30 minutes. She watches people with great intensity.  But she also closes her eyes when she sleeps.  I have heard people say that the earth is balanced on the back of a turtle. And that there are turtles stacked all the way down. 

I am glad we no longer make knick knacks of turtle shell and the turtles are not made into soup in
Hawaii.  I wish we could extend that to other parts of the world. 

Elizabeth Sandvig
February 2009


View photos from March 10th conversation with the artists.
Read the Seattle PI review...