Biography

Elizabeth (Bess) Montgomery grew up in Stillwater, Minnesota-affectionately known as "The Land of 10,000 Lakes". The influence of spending most summer days and nearly every holiday and vacation outside; camping, exploring, savoring winter and snow, and collecting every stray animal she and her 3 sisters could find- (wild or domestic)- deeply influenced her love and need for nature and travel. It has also impacted her own artwork in terms of visual imagery and representation.

She received her BA in Fine Art in 2002 from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2007. In 2011, Elizabeth was granted a Teaching License in Art Education from the University of Minnesota.

From 2003-2010, Elizabeth showed extensively throughout national and international galleries and Universities; in locations such as Davis University, California; Loyola University, Chicago; Sophia, Bulgaria; and Mexico City, Mexico, to name a few. She is featured in Printmaking collections in many locations throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Though she continues to create her own artwork; in 2010 Elizabeth decided to pursue a degree in Art Education, with the hopes of living abroad to spread her love of art around the world. This wish was granted in 2014, when she began her International Teaching career at International School Dhaka, in Bangladesh. Her adventure continues, currently in China.

Currently residing, teaching, and making Art in South Asia, Elizabeth continues to travel and find adventures whenever and wherever she can; whether that be getting lost in the Himalayas of Nepal, spending whole nights standing on trains across India or climbing volcanoes in Sumatra, Indonesia. She tries to bring her excitement of learning about new cultures and their visual representations into her Visual Arts classroom as well, using any opportunity to teach her students about global Art.

Her own artwork is influenced by artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeois, Red Grooms and currently many South Asian folk artists.