About Elaine

traces of ancient times
fossils lithos scrapers
unearthed from the soil

Ever since my first trip as a young child to the Pueblo ruins at Mesa Verde, Colorado, I have been intrigued with ancient relics and clay artifacts. I grew up in Maryland, and as my mother was an avid gardener, our home was filled with plants, a greenhouse full of orchids. My parents instilled in me a fascination for plants, creatures and their remains. I studied art in Madison, Wisconsin in 1979. Don Reitz, a pioneer clay artist, was full of passion and his expressive techniques for creating left their marks on my creativity. In 1989, while working at the Harvard Radcliffe ceramics studio, in Massachusetts, I met Makoto Yabe, a wonderful humble Japanese master with a special aesthetic, and his philosophy about art and life still resonate in me today. Over the years, I have taken workshops at various studios, incorporated techniques and developed my own style of work. In 2003 I moved to New Mexico, where I began exploring prehistoric ceramics, through living in a sacred, mystical place, with ancient historical influences. Living in Sante Fe provided endless beauty, stunning light, and numerous opportunities to exhibit and sell my clay art.

When creating clay pieces, I am carrying on an ancient tradition, working simply with materials from the earth. I think about how connected we all are to the past, and wonder if our human desires have really changed that much through the centuries. I feel that I am bringing the past to life through my art, and honoring the creativity and mystery that came before us.