Details
| First Name | Olena |
| Last Name | Ellis |
| Nickname | Olena |
My Ceramics
| In the studio I like to do | Handbuilding, Throwing on the Wheel, Sculpting |
| Pottery Wheel | Brent |
| Clay body | Stoneware, Porcelain |
| Clay Brand | Varies, I am always experimenting |
| Kiln Type | Electric Kiln, Wood Fired Kiln |
| Kiln Atmosphere | Reduction Atmosphere, Oxidation Atmosphere |
| Temperature | Everything from Cone 04 to 10 |
| Glaze | Purchase Amaco, Mayco and sculptural glazes from Georgies, plus make my own. |
| You can buy my work from |
About Me
| Introduction | Hi, many name is Olena Ellis, nice to meet you. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska. I primarily make sculptures and am interested in historical pots. |
| What I Love about Ceramics | Clay’s memory shows fingerprints, movement and emotion similar to our lives, each experience leaving an impression. Working with clay feels like a different experience each and every time that you work with it, the variety and unpredictability keeps the work intriguing and the growth endless. |
| How I started with ceramics | I was honored to be able to go to college once my children were of college age. My intentions were to get a business degree. I signed up for ceramics for the ‘required’ art class. Our day one challenge as a team of 3 was to use 400 pounds of clay using it all to make a sculpture a minimum of 6 feet tall, able to stand on its own and one hour to finish. Needless to say, I found my home and never left the studio changing my degree to Fine Arts. |
| What inspires me | Family, nature, powerful and inspirational humans. |
| What I'm working on at the moment | Building my studio and taking time to nest within my new space. |
| My Artist Statement | Olena’s sculptures refer to the internal landscape of individuals and connect the viewer to the emotional rich history we all possess. Her motherhood journey started at a young age and included ecstatic joy to devastating losses. The pilgrimage of healing and self-discovery unearthed a deep well of experiences drawing inspiration from her own and other women’s journeys in life. Empathetic, she embraces her perceived heartfelt intentions from bronze age relics, jomon vessels, and other antiquities worldwide, finding comfort and truth. Olena sees herself as part of a circle of women throughout time and believes that growth shared within this sisterhood encourages the circle to expand all into their greatness. Working intuitively and spontaneously, she explores the physical, spiritual, and inner network of emotional bonds found within relationships within ourselves and our communities. She reimagines a future growing and unfolding that redefines a new vital role for women in society. Using symbolic narratives, Olena awakens heartfelt, unconscious reactions summarizing the internal landscape of individuals within the viewer, creating an optimistic space. Sharing experiences and wisdom of others encourages community growth in tandem with our individual journeys and solidifies no one is alone. |
| My CV | EDUCATION2014-2018 University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bachelor of Fine Arts, May 2018, Magna cum Laude MENTORSHIP2022-2023 Clay Cohorts year-long program working with Lisa Orr RESIDENCY2017 Residency at Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, Ojai, CA SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2021 OMGoddess! Fairbanks Arts Association, Bear Gallery, Fairbanks, AK2018 Do You Count? University Art Gallery, Fairbanks, AK SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2023 Clay Cohorts at Good Earth Pottery, Bellingham, WA 2022 36th Annual 64th Parallel Exhibition, Juror Allison Baker 2021 F.A.M. Invitational at Bear Gallery, Fairbanks, AKGallery Artist of the Month, Fairbanks Arts Association 2019 Invitational BFA Alumni Exhibition at UAF Fine Art Gallery 2018 November Artist of the Month, Fairbanks Arts Association64th Parallel, Fairbanks Arts, Juror Elizabeth Emery (2nd Place-Sideways Glance)Limited Edition Show, Fairbanks Arts AssociationWitching Hour, Invitational Frozen Lens Photography Show (Ceramics)Whimsy, Fairbanks Arts Association Spring Juried (Rachelle Dowdy) Exhibition 2017 The Journey is the Destination, Keller Architecture & Allied Arts Legacy & Continuum Gallery Show, Beato Gallery, Ojai, CA Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts Online Ceramic Exhibition UAF Spring Juried Art Exhibition “Aqua Forest” (Honorable Mention) Circumpolar – Alaska State Juried Show by Jeff Schultz at Ursa Major SCAG Ceramic Art Show at UAF Fine Art Gallery Exposed: A Group Exhibition at UAF Fine Art Gallery 2016 Juried UAF Student Art Show – “Vio-lace” (Best of Ceramics) First Friday Show at Sipping Streams, Fairbanks, AK 2015 First Friday Show at Keller Architecture & Allied Arts Thawed Out Juried Art Show, Fairbanks, AK First Friday Show of Photography at Arctic Java, UAF, Fairbanks, AK Sustainability Art Show (Sea Turtle – Honorable Mention) 2014 Student Art Show – “Blue Ted” (Honorable Mention) BFA Art Show at UAF First Friday Show at Keller Architecture & Allied Arts PERMANENT COLLECTIONSFairbanks Mayor’s Office, Fairbanks, AK, Coral Borealis PUBLICATIONS2021 Finding the feminine mystique in the works of Olena Ellis, by David JamesFairbanks Daily News-Miner – Creating Alaska, February 2021,2018 Ceramics Monthly, May 20182017 ASF Photography Contest for holiday cards, Iditarod Dog Team2016 ASF Photography Contest for holiday cards, Reindeer2012 Mosaic Art Today, Schiffer Publishing LTD, 2012, pages 96 -101 RELATED EXPERIENCE2016 Instructor Visual Arts Academy, Ceramics, University of Alaska, Fairbanks2015-2016 Instructor Summer Sessions Kids Camp, Ceramics, University of Alaska HONORS & AWARDS2018 University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Magna cum Laude URSA Spring Project Award (Undergraduate Research & Scholarly Activity) Second Place – Sideways Glance, 64th Parallel, Fairbanks Arts, Juror Elizabeth EmeryUniversity of Alaska Completion Grant Recipient2017 Krist Anderson Memorial Scholarship Recipient for Ceramic Arts Heather Dowdy Memorial Scholarship Recipient for Ceramic ArtsHonorable Mention – Aqua Forest – UAF Spring Juried Art Exhibition University of Alaska Completion Grant Recipient ASUAF Senate Travel Scholarship for NCECA Recipient for Ceramic Arts2016 Best of Ceramics Vio-Lace, Annual Juried Student Exhibition, UAF Gallery The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Golden Key International Honor Society Tom Rohr Memorial Scholarship Recipient for Ceramic Arts ASUAF Senate Travel Scholarship for NCECA Recipient for Ceramic Arts2015 Liz Berry Memorial Scholarship Recipient for Ceramic Arts Carolyn Sampson, UAF Staff Council Memorial AwardHonorable Mention – Sea Turtle, Sustainability Art Show 2014 Mary Jones Scholarship Doyon Foundation Scholarship |
