For Lisa Tuttle, discarded materials can hold stories.
Using leftover scraps, folded book pages and old photographs, the Atlanta artist creates layered mixed-media works that explore personal family history, Southern social legacies and the way the past lingers in our collective memory.
Artist: Born in Little Rock, AK, Tuttle grew up in Charlotte, N.C. She earned a BA in humanities/painting at New College in Sarasota, FL.
She later did post-grad studies in photography, painting, drawing, and art history at the Atlanta College of Art and Georgia State University.
Over the years, while maintaining an active studio practice, Tuttle worked for non-profit and college galleries and the Arts Festival of Atlanta. She also served as lead administrator for the Fulton County Arts and Culture public art program for 16 years.
“My curatorial and arts administrative work brought me into contact with countless artists and art workers,” said Tuttle. “Each teaching me something that enriched my practice.”
Company/studio: Lisa Tuttle Studio is located at the ArtsXchange, a non-profit cultural community center in East Point, GA. Prior to moving there seven years ago, Tuttle’s studio was located for 26 years in Grant Park.
”I like being at the ArtsXchange, as I can have private space,” said Tuttle. “But I also can engage with some amazing artists in the building.”
Art & materials: Interdisciplinary and multi-media work, which includes painting, printmaking, collage and photography, featuring historical images and stories.
- Large, paper-quilt collages ($1,200 to $1,500).
- Framed digital prints ($400 to $600).
- Small works on paper and hand-painted cards ($5 to $30).
- Public art Installations ($5,000-plus).
Tools: Stencils, Photoshop, Epson photo printer and silk screens.
Inspirations:
- Art as a catalyst for social change.
- Recently, the Gee’s Bend quilters.
Special commissions:
- Collaborated with Atlanta poet Alice Lovelace on “Harriet Rising,” a yearlong project at Underground Atlanta. The installation honored American abolitionist Harriet Tubman.Tuttle and Lovelace received a 2012 Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Year-in-Review award for the work, which was named one of the top 50 public art projects in the country. (Pictured below at right)
- Mock Proposal, also known as Proposal for Stone Mountain carving. In the digital photograph on paper, Tuttle offers a correction for the park’s Confederate memorial carving: the three generals are carrying the white flags of surrender. 2019.
Recent honor: Fulton County Individual Artist contract recipient. 2026.
Recent project: “Paper Quilts and Stories,” a solo exhibition at Gallery 100 in downtown Atlanta. 2026.
What’s new: Visiting artist at H.J.C. Bowden Senior Multipurpose Facility, East Point, GA. October 2026.
Where to buy: Artist website: (lisatuttlestudio.com). While under construction, contact the artist at: artistlisatuttle@gmail.com.
Connect:
- Instagram: @artistlisatuttle
- Facebook: lisa.tuttle.artist
- ArtsXchange.org/people/lisa-tuttle
