The Laurel Of Asheville
Cover Artist: Elizabeth Mayton

By Gina Malone

Elizabeth Mayton was born in Atlanta into a family of members who express themselves in many creative ways, and so it was no surprise when she began creating as a toddler. “My mother told me that I started drawing images when I was really little, probably a little over two years old,” she says. “My first drawings were probably of our pet cats. They look like amoebas with eyes and whiskers. She and my family remember me always drawing and creating things.”

Red and Pink Flowers. Elizabeth Mayton, artist

When she was three years old, it was determined that Mayton was deaf in her left ear and, in her right, had severe hearing loss, mainly with high frequencies. Until the discovery and subsequently being fitted with a hearing aid, she had not spoken. Over the years, with speech therapy, she learned to communicate and developed a passion for special education. During undergraduate studies in Art History with a minor in Visual Art, she explored drawing, design, metalsmithing, ceramics and sculpture. In 2006, she obtained a Masters degree in Deaf Education so that she could work with students. Her work involves traveling among public schools in a district for one-on-one work with students requiring specific instruction as well as working with teachers on how to accommodate the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Through the years, however, she has always made time for art. “I believe my deafness is what inspired me to draw and create images starting at a very young age,” she says. “It was my way of expressing myself without having to talk. I can relax and just focus on creating. I did a lot of portraits of family members, friends, pets, plants, landscapes, still life, whatever I found interesting.” Growing up, she spent many summers at her grandfather’s apple orchard exploring the outdoors. “This exposed me to so many beautiful and interesting things nature has to offer,” she says. “I drew a lot of what I saw and experienced. I even made a little space where I would draw in the corner of this old barn; my first studio. The walls would be covered in my drawings, and I had a little table filled with art materials and things I found in nature, such as sticks, rocks, feathers and, of course, apples. I would incorporate what I found in my art and draw them.”