Artist's
Statement:
 When
collectors call my work "suggestive" I smile, for teasing
the imagination is part of my intent. If you look at one of my brooches
and find yourself thinking about budding plants or reflections off
a rippling stream, then I have done my job. As you handle my earrings,
if you're suddenly musing about succulent fruit, then you've realized
my intent. Through abstract form, luminous surface and subtle color
blends, my artwork functions as a touchstone to the pleasures and
mysteries of nature.
Artist's Profile:
Elise
Winters grew up in Rochester, New York where her family's metalworking
business nurtured her drive for designing and building innovative
hand-tools for artists. While earning arts degrees from Syracuse,
Montclair and the New School Universities, Elise first encountered
the mysteries of color and light and the lure of ceramic clay. As
a professional potter, she loved the malleability of earthenware
clay, twisting and shaping it into full organic forms. Later, as
a photographer, she was seduced by the subtle play of color and
light - by reflection, translucence, the ephemeral colors of the
sky. Time spent in Japan enriched her studies of ceramics and sumi-e
brush painting. The Japanese influence, in both its reverence for
nature and its respect for subtlety of design, has informed Elise's
work with luminous polymer clay jewelry. Her signature pieces of
jewelry and sculpture feature a technique she has come to call "crazed
acrylic," a subtle combination of polymer clay with acrylic
paints which results in shimmering colorful surfaces.
Elise
is recognized as one of the nation's leading polymer clay artists and jewelry designers,
having had her work illustrated and written about in numerous books
and periodicals. From time to time she curates exhibitions with the purpose of educating the public about the finest work being done in polymer.
 In 2006:
Elise was again chosen as a finalist for a NICHE award
One of her necklaces graced the cover of THE CRAFT REPORT, Feb. issue, which also contained a profile article
www.craftsreport.com/february06
Her work was again selected for inclusion in American Art Collector Quarterly
In 2005:
Elise was chosen as a finalist for a 2005 NICHE Award.
Golden Artist Colors commissioned 3 brooches for their corporate collection
Her work was selected for inclusion in American Art Collector Quarterly
In 2003:
Elise was honored with a NICHE Award.
The spring issue of ORNAMENT magazine featured her work in an
artist's profile article.
Elise's work has been sold in:
| Bellagio |
Asheville, NC |
| Fleury |
Houston, TX |
| Forma |
Ann Arbor, MI |
| From The Ruins |
Key West, FL |
| Gallery 5 |
Tequesta, FL |
| Gallery 8 |
La Jolla, CA |
| Julie: Artisans' Gallery |
New York, NY |
| MIO |
San Francisco, CA |
| Morgan Ballou |
Woodstock, VT |
| OXOXO Gallery |
Baltimore, MD |
| Pavo Real |
Boston, MA |
| Pavo Real |
Chicago, IL |
| Perceptions |
Concord, MA |
| Philadelphia Museum of Art |
Philadelphia, PA |
| Ragazzi's Flying Shuttle |
Seattle, WA |
| Society of Arts and Crafts |
Boston, MA |
| Wardrobe |
Austin, TX |
| Widney Moore Gallery |
Portland, OR |
| WOW |
Newton Highlands, MA |
| Zenith Gallery |
Washington, DC |
| and other fine galleries across the US |
Her jewelry and sculpture have been exhibited in:
| The Bead Museum |
Glendale, AZ |
| Baltimore ClayWorks |
Baltimore, MD |
| Brookfield Craft Center |
Brookfield, CT |
| Firehouse Art Center |
Norman, OK |
| Florida Craftsmen's Gallery |
St. Petersburg, FL |
Houston Center for
Contemporary Craft |
Houston, TX |
| Hunterdon Museum |
Clinton, NJ |
| Kamiji Gallery |
Tokyo, Japan |
| Kentucky Museum of Art + Design |
Louisville, KY |
| Laramie Fine Arts Galley |
Cheyenne, WY |
| Montclair Art Museum |
Montclair, NJ |
| Manchester Design Center |
Manchester, UK |
| Mitsukoshi Gallery |
Tokyo, Japan |
| Monmouth Museum |
Lincroft, NJ |
| The Morris Museum |
Morristown, NJ |
| Noyes Museum of Art |
Oceanville, NJ |
| Ohio Craft Museum |
Columbus, OH |
| OCCC Center Gallery |
Demarest, NJ |
| Portland Museum of Art |
Portland, ME |
| Peters Valley Gallery |
Layton, NJ |
| Suburban Fine Arts Center |
Chicago, IL |
| Target Gallery |
Alexandria, VA |
Her
work has been seen in:
 American Craft, American Style, Ornament, Lapidary Journal,
Metalsmith, Niche, and Craft Report magazines as well as
these fine books, The Art of Polymer Clay, by Donna Kato, 1997
Artists at Work, by Lindly Haunani and Pierette Ashcroft, 1996
Creating with Polymer Clay, by Steven Ford, 1995
Foundations in Polymer Clay Design, by Barbara McGuire, 1999
Polymer Clay: exploring New Techniques, by Georgia Sargeant
and Celie Fago, 2002
400 Polymer Clay Designs, Lark Books, 2004
She curated:
Moves in Polymer
Clay, Brookfield CT, 2003
Illuminating a
Medium: Polymer Retrospective, Bryn Mawr PA, 2001
8X10 In Polymer
Clay, Haworth NJ, 1999
8X10 In Polymer
Clay, Haworth NJ, 1998
Masters' Invitational
Polymer Clay Exhibition, Demarest NJ, 1997
Elise
teaches and lectures about her work and the medium of polymer clay.
Past venues include:
92nd St. Y, New York NY
National Polymer Clay Conference, 1997, Gaitlinburg TN
Art League School, Alexandria VA
Fashion Institute of Technology, New York NY
Laramie College, Cheyenne WY
MAFA Conference, 2001, Towson MD
National Polymer Clay Guild Conference, 2001, Bryn Mawr, PA
Old Church Cultural Center School of Art, Demarest, NJ
Ravensdale Polymer Clay Conferences, 1996, 1998, 2000, Seattle, WA
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