A Place Filled with Shimmers of Light

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Decorating The Local, celebrating the journey, and inviting you to see it in person

There is something deeply moving about seeing a whole space transformed by your own artwork. Not just one painting on one wall. Not just one framed piece set apart.
But a room — a real gathering place — slowly filling with color, shimmer, memory, and light.

This month, I had the joy of installing a collection of 30 pieces of my artwork at The Local in Boise, and I don’t think I will ever forget the feeling of watching it come together. One by one, the paintings found their places. A mountain lake here.
A moonlit winter scene there. Water, grasses, trees, wildflowers, skies, butterflies, and quiet places of beauty began to settle into the room. And then, almost suddenly, the whole restaurant felt different.

It was still The Local — warm, welcoming, full of conversation and good food — but now it also carried the fingerprints of my studio. My sense of color. My love of light. My memories of Idaho landscapes, shimmering water, and the little visual surprises I tuck into each piece.

It is a vulnerable and wonderful thing to walk into a public place and see so much of your creative life on the walls.

I found myself thinking about all the steps that led here. The paintings created at the kitchen table, in the studio, at events, from photos, from memories, from places that caught my heart. The careful printing and framing. The shimmer added by hand. The conversations at art booths. The people who encouraged me to keep going. The friends who prayed, showed up, purchased pieces, shared posts, took classes, invited others, and believed this was becoming something real.

A year ago, much of this was still unfolding quietly. Now, to stand inside a restaurant and see an entire space touched by Elizabeth Van Tassel Studios feels like a gift.

What moved me most was bringing friends there and watching them look around.

There is a special kind of joy in seeing people discover the work in person. Someone will step closer. Someone else will notice how the light moves across a surface. A shimmer appears over water. A moonlit sky catches from a new angle. A grassland seems to stir. A painting they may have seen online suddenly becomes more alive in the room.

That is one of my favorite things about these pieces: they ask to be experienced, not just viewed.

They change as the light changes.
They reward a closer look.
They invite people to slow down.

And in a place like The Local, where people are already gathering around tables, sharing meals, telling stories, and taking a breath in the middle of real life, the artwork feels right at home.

It has been so meaningful to see my paintings become part of that atmosphere. Art does something different when it enters a lived-in space. It is no longer only an object. It becomes part of an experience. It becomes the backdrop to a lunch with friends, a quiet cup of coffee, a conversation, a celebration, an ordinary afternoon made a little more beautiful.

That is what I hope my work brings: not simply decoration, but a sense of wonder returning. A reminder that beauty still belongs in everyday places.

This installation also feels like a marker for me personally. It is a moment to pause and celebrate a year-plus of stepping forward more publicly with my artwork, jewelry, teaching, and studio life. It has taken courage, perseverance, help, prayer, and so much kindness from the people around me.

So many of you have walked parts of this journey with me. You have cheered from nearby tables and faraway places. You have come to booths and gallery shows. You have purchased art and jewelry. You have encouraged me online. You have shared a kind word at exactly the right time. You have prayed for us. You have helped turn this from a dream into something I can actually stand inside and see.

Please join me for my Artist Happy Hour Reception at The Local in Boise on Thursday, June 18, from 3–5 p.m. We’ll walk through the collection, look for the shimmers of light, share stories behind the pieces, and celebrate this beautiful season together.

Whether you are a collector, a friend, a fellow creative, a student, a prayer partner, or someone who simply loves beauty, you are warmly invited. Come see the room transformed with the shimmer in person. Come share a special moment with me in a place now filled with light, color, memory, and wonder.

With gratitude,
Elizabeth Van Tassel
Elizabeth Van Tassel Studios

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