Collection: Elizabeth Forrest

Elizabeth Forrest was born in Vancouver and raised in Montreal and Toronto. After obtaining a B.A. and B.Ed., she studied at the Ontario College of Art where she specialized in printmaking. After a teaching stint at OCAD, Elizabeth went to Kyoto, Japan to learn mokuhanga - a traditional waterbased, woodblock printing method. Making use of a baren for printing, this non-toxic art form became her medium of choice to the present day. After 11 years in Japan, Elizabeth returned to Toronto where she lived and worked until 2018 when she sought a less frenetic pace, and moved to Waterloo, Ontario.

Elizabeth is the recipient of various grants to support her work in artist’s books, residencies, and exhibitions. In 2008 she initiated and helped develop an exhibition of traditional and contemporary mokuhanga at the Japan Foundation, Toronto, opening on Nuit Blanche. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Japan and Canada, including at the John B Aird gallery, Open Studio, and Gerrard Art Space. Internationally, she has participated in juried exhibitions travelling to Peru, USA, Ireland, Australia, and Taiwan, and in 2017, she won a purchase award from the government of Hawaii during the International Mokuhanga Exhibition held in Honolulu. Her recent work explores the social impact of Covid 19 and experiencing life virtually.