At 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, you will have an exceptional opportunity to join Kinston smArt Artist Izzy Piel at the smART Gallery for a captivating Artist Talk that will take you on a visual journey across the United States as Izzy explores the colors of emotions inspired by her travels.

As an artist who focuses on therapeutic art, Izzy, also known as Elizabeth Piel, has found solace and aided others in navigating challenging emotions through her expressive color palettes. She is looking forward to sharing this experience with you. The smART Gallery is at 210 N Queen St., Kinston, NC 28501.

Elizabeth Piel is a surreal contemporary artist from Wilson, NC. After graduating college, she traveled to the United States. The thousands of miles she traveled, experiencing the highs and lows of living and being on the road, brought her a sense of awareness and appreciation for all things. 

“Born and raised in Eastern North Carolina, I’ve always had a love for the arts,” Izzy said. “Creating has been my passion from the start. After my primary education, focusing on elementary education, I switched paths and pursued a career in culinary arts. 

“While working in high-end restaurants, I was able to create beautiful dishes, true works of art, but it wasn’t the medium my heart longed for. Paints, acrylics, watercolors – that’s what I was missing. So, after 10 years of adrenaline-filled fine dining, I decided to slow down and pick back up my brush.”

She engulfed herself in the culture of the Southwest, from pottery to cacti and murals. She soaked in everything. The colors of the Southwest and the dark corners of the Pacific Northwest form the palette from which she pulls her paint. Her art ranges from dark surrealism to pop art collages.

Most of Izzy’s art is inspired by mental illness and focuses on mental health awareness. From anxiety, depression, mania, and insomnia to sleep paralysis and nightmares, she paints the feeling. To portray that feeling, she uses a variety of mediums. However, the light side of her art is the bright pastels of mystic places. She recalls her journeys by telling the story with her brush.

When she is not creating in her studio, she works as a Therapeutic Art Life Coach.

This “Artist Talk” with Izzy is one of the outreach programs of the SmART Kinston City Project Foundation. This foundation operates the SmART Gallery and is committed to bringing talented, working artists into the Mitchelltown Arts and Cultural District to live, create, and share their work with the community.

The program started in 2015 and currently hosts artists from around the country. These artists helped create murals throughout the area. They run workshops in middle and elementary schools where art instruction is not readily available. They also exhibit their works at area venues, including the SmART Gallery, which opened in November 2019.

SmART Kinston is a 501(c)3 non-profit that welcomes donations from the private and corporate sectors. The organization hosts regular events to promote art and educate people about being an artist. The SmART Kinston City Project Foundation is committed to building Kinston and Lenoir County’s creative economy. 

For more information about SmART Kinston and the SmART Gallery, visit www.smartkinston.com and click on the link to SmART Gallery.

Be sure to mark your calendar for 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, to hear an energetic artist give an intriguing talk.

Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.