Elizabeth Goodwill, Neal and Barbara Gerdeman. Photo by Alex Alfaro.

Elizabeth Goodwill and Barbara Gerdeman might live in the same world as the rest of the population, but to the founders of Creative Liberties, that world looks a little different. It’s a world in which everyday occurrences, from the flight of a bird to a lone shoe on the side of US 41 contain moments of magic. Those moments are commemorated in the pair’s joint exhibition Lost & Found, currently on view in the Studio at Art Ovation Hotel.

Lost & Found allocates two series of Goodwill’s and Gerdeman’s into a cohesive exhibition that weaves together assemblage, found art, assemblage and creative writing. Gerdeman’s series, Lost Soles, began with a question. “It started with seeing shoes on the side of the road and wondering, how did they get there?” says Gerdeman. “Why are they on the road? I thought it was a really cool photo opportunity.” In Lost Soles, Gerdeman pairs photographs of misplaced shoes that she finds on the roadways around Sarasota with the actual shoe itself. Often, the image and shoe is paired with a fictional story, written by her husband Neal. “I start to think of what kind of person lost this shoe? What might their name be and what possibly led to this?” says Neal Gerdeman. At the exhibition, viewers are invited to submit their own stories to various shoes in the Lost Soles collection.

Goodwill’s work veers largely into what she dubs “ethical taxidermy”—masks and assemblages resembling birds and animals created from recycled materials. These pieces, fully formed and supported by intricate wire armature, consist of everything from parts of tablecloths and doilies to recycled book pages, driftwood, used leather and fabric, to name but a few. Goodwill also employs different elements of weaving and the fiber arts throughout the pieces in Lost & Found. “There are these little hidden secrets within my work here and that has always been a staple of my art, going back to my undergraduate years,” says Goodwill. “I’m interested in found objects and the history behind materials and their form.”

Lost & Found, June 23-28, Public Reception June 26 5-8pm, Art Ovation Hotel, 1225 N Palm Ave, Sarasota.

Elizabeth Goodwill, Neal and Barbara Gerdeman. Photo by Alex Alfaro.

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