About Elise
Elise Ruffell is a UK-based ceramicist, artist and educator.
Following a previous career as an IT consultant in the late 1990s, Elise discovered a passion for clay, graduating from Central Saint Martins College in 2007 with a First Class BA (Hons) in Ceramic Design. In 2020 she graduated from the Royal College of Art in London with an MA in Ceramics & Glass.
Elise's ceramic practice focuses on the use of colour to represent emotion within the constraints of geometric forms.
Alongside her studio practice, Elise is a Senior Educational Developer at the Royal College of Art. She lectures on the RCA's Masters and Postgraduate Certificate in Creative Education. In addition, Elise supports colleagues to develop and gain recognition for their creative educational practice. Elise has extensive experience of leading and teaching on art & design courses from A-Levels to undergraduate. She has also run ceramics and craft projects with schools and community groups.
Elise is also an experienced maths teacher and is a specialist in embedding maths in creative teaching. She has designed and delivers teacher training on this subject for the University of the Arts London Awarding Body. More information about the training can be found here.
Artist's statement:
My forms are familiar and geometric – circles, cubes and prisms. Each would be characterless were it not for the inclusions of colourful Parian clay. The spectrum appears to burst from the surface, as though no longer able to be supressed. Each piece asserts its own unique agency and identity, inspired by my personal journey to self-knowledge and acceptance.
On the circular two-dimensional pieces, colours swirl and flow, moving and merging as I work with the clay. The circle acts as a porthole, a window into a vibrant world.
My three-dimensional forms employ the process of press-moulding – pushing the material from the inside. The enjoyment of spontaneity and uncertainty is paramount, the final aesthetic only revealed when removed from the mould. Hence I divest control over exactly how each piece will look, valuing the cracks and fissures which are not imperfections but an expression of uniqueness. I consider striving for perfection to be an ultimately fruitless task. Who defines these expectations anyway? Society may push us to conform to certain conventions but it is in being true to myself that I truly thrive.
Education:
2018-2020 MA Ceramics & Glass, Royal College of Art, London, UK
2012-2014 Certificate in Education, University of Plymouth, UK
2004-2007 BA (Hons) Ceramic Design, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London, UK [First Class]
2003-2004 Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London, UK
1994-1997 BSc (Hons) Statistical Science with Information Technology, University of Exeter, UK
Elise is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and
a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)
Exhibitions include:
Contemporary Ceramics, The Design Museum, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, the Royal College of Art, Pulse at Earls Court, Handmade in Britain at Chelsea Old Town Hall, The Craft Centre & Design Gallery at Leeds Art Gallery, New Brewery Arts Cirencester, Saltram National Trust House, the Royal Birmingham Society of Arts and the Barbican, London.
Publicity includes:
Country Living Magazine, Emerging Potters Magazine, Design Arts Magazine, a-n Magazine, London Potters Newsletter (cover), White Weddings Magazine and The Ceramic Design Course by Anthony Quinn.
Collections:
A selection of my work was purchased to form part of the Central Saint Martins Museum & Study Collection in 2007