BIMA is pleased to introduce the work of Elizabeth Donnally Davidson (Bainbridge Island). Davidson’s diverse series of artworks include her ceramic Ironic Bloom Series and Ritual Jar Series, vessels that serve as metaphors for human existence and the internal and external forces that shape our lives. Also featured are hand-stitched Valentines on cotton muslin, and Stitch Drawings on Japanese indigo cotton, reflections of the heart and mind. 

Brief Bio

I was born in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1948. I attended many schools while growing up, including two years in a French boarding school in Cannes, France (1954-1956), where I learned to embroider and knit. I also spent four years in Athens, Greece (1962-1966), – where I did my homework on the Acropolis and looked at a lot of ceramics. I have a B.A. in Literature (1970) and an M.A. in Teaching (1971), both from Reed College in Oregon. 

I have worked in a variety of organizations, including Co-Director of Membership and Development at the Portland Art Museum; Director of the CETA Program for Oregon Arts Commission; Director of Blackfish Gallery in Portland, OR, and as Poetry Editor for the Oregon Times, also in Portland, OR.

I was the owner of Donnally/Hayes Gallery, which became Donnally Books, an antiquarian books and art gallery in Pioneer Square. I am a published poet, and married to Sam Davidson (Davidson Galleries) since 1981. When I retired, we moved to Bainbridge Island, somewhere around 1991. 

Acknowledgements: Thank you to Wendy Orville and Anne Traver for drawing attention to my work; to my teachers Jenny Anderson and Wally Bivins for seeing potential in me before I saw it myself (and who taught me well); to Rado, Jeremiah, Mimi, and Rhys for their company and great ideas; and to Sam.