Artist Statement

Elizabeth Copland creates narrative ceramic sculptures, inspired from stories of her own life, growing up in the Pacific Northwest, and her relationships. In her most recent body of work, she playfully narrates her experience of working from home while raising small humans during the global pandemic. The ceramic vessel is not unlike the female body; it carries, it protects, it warms, it organizes, it holds together. There is a dialog between the sturdy nature of these ceramic forms and the playful chaos of the illustrations. As life is constantly being shaken up and redistributed, the pot remains heavy and steady, containing it all.

Another body of figurative work was created in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. This decision was the inertia for a series of figures in black and white tones– decorated, hollow vessels who somehow carry their expansive minds with grace, fortitude, and ideas for a better future. They are watching, listening, and waiting to be heard.

Elizabeth is drawn to the transformative nature of ceramics. In its raw, wet state, it gives fully, capturing fingerprints and leaving behind human imperfections. While in its fired state, it is transformed into a hardened, permanent object. She approaches building with clay cognizant of the truth that clay was here before us and will outlast us all. It is a privilege to tell stories through this medium.