In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, Liz Courts found herself at a crossroads. Her long-standing career and freelance work had taken a hit, prompting her to reconsider her path and set her sights on The University of New Mexico.
Courts recalled, “I think we can all agree that 2020 was a weird time for everybody. I was at my wit's end. My freelance work had dried up, and I did not get the opportunity to do remote work as a graphic designer through the company I had been employed at. All my life, I had heard ‘You can't make a living as an artist,' and, finally, I was tired of hearing it." She added that anyone who believes this has a limited understanding of what formal art education entails and how it impacts every aspect of one's life.
Now aged 41, Courts is set to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Studio degree along with a minor in Arts Leadership and Business.
Before returning to school, Courts worked in community management and e-commerce operations for a tabletop roleplaying game company while also freelancing as a graphic designer and illustrator. She held down a full-time job as a graphic designer at a local sign company.
Courts moved from the Pacific Northwest to New Mexico which she says has been good for her creativity. "UNM, in particular, really nurtured my love of learning," she said.
Her family played an instrumental role in guiding her educational journey. She noted that their diverse interests provided her with various approaches to life and art.
Several individuals at UNM also inspired Courts: Artist Welly Fletcher; Associate Professor of Ceramics Gina Voelker-Bobrowski; Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Art Stephanie Woods; Professor of Spanish Colonial Art and Architecture Ray Hernández-Durán; Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science Leah Buechley; Jonathan Fitz and Brooke Steiger, UNM arts lab managers.
Upon graduation, Courts plans to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York to pursue her MFA and continue her work towards making the arts an inclusive and safe space for everyone.
Courts had some words of encouragement for those contemplating a career in the arts: “Don't ever believe that you're not a creative person. I promise you that you are. Creativity takes so many different forms, expresses itself in so many different ways, and it embraces what it means to be human."
