bio

My name is Liz Valasco. I'm an artist currently living in Humboldt County, CA. I graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2011 with a BFA in printmaking.

I've been making comics ever since I discovered Calvin and Hobbes when I was six years old. I didn't understand many of the words Watterson used, but I was entranced by the world he created. I started out by making direct rip offs of his story (sorry Bill) but then moved to making my own plots and characters. I made comics for myself and friends for entertainment. When I was in high school I discovered the works of Chris Ware, Lynda Barry, and Marjane Satrapi, which opened my eyes to what comics could really be: not just panel to panel slapstick comedy like in the newspaper, but long form works that made you FEEL as you read them. I made my first zines in 2009, and I've kept going from there!

I consider my sketchbook to be the main place where my artistic visions take place. As a high school student preparing for college, most of my drawings lived in my sketchbook. Besides being an avid reader, I think this may be why I'm so drawn to the book format: it's personal, portable, and contains a narrative that can change depending on who is looking at it.

I first discovered printmaking at a precollege program and fell in love. The processes, the multiples, the idea that you can make a million different representations from one matrix, delights me to this day. Printmaking is very special to me because I enjoy when the process informs the final product. It also allows art to be made and distributed more widely than a single painting or drawing, making art available to the masses.

To see reviews of my work, please see the Links page.