Updated Biography and Artist Statement

This is a short update, but one a bit overdue. In late 2023 I relocated to Ypsilanti, MI and set up my own studio for the first time. With that change I reevaluated my professional and personal goals, shifting my studio practice to a new body of work. As an artist, anytime you try out a new idea it is unclear whether that idea will fizzle out or grow into something inspiring and generative. The zoomorphic vessels I began making has matured and grown over the past year and a half. So, this week I sat down for the first time to reflect and write a new artist statement; one that better suits what my current artwork is about. Enjoy!

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Elliott Kayser is a full time studio artist living in Ypsilanti, MI. His wife Jenneva is also a practicing ceramic studio artist, and their daughter, Lenora (age 5), loves coming into the studio with mom and dad to make her own pottery. Elliott has always had a passion for sculpting animals, and the latest body of work is a playful exploration of zoomorphic vessels, often inspired by fatherhood. He likes to tell people that Lenora is his product manager, soliciting suggestions for what the next big success will be; "dad, you should make another triceratops, people are gonna eat those up!". She is always right; people do eat those dinosaur spice jars up.

The zoomorphic vessel is a playful balance between utility and decoration. I marvel at how many animal-shaped artifacts were buried with loved ones in cultures all across the world, and are now preserved and still cherished. These things mattered to the people in the past, and they still resonate with us today, and help us feel connected with our ancestors. To see a neolithic baby bottle in the shape of an animal, designed to delight the children of the ancient past, feels simultaneously simple and profound. It is these intimate and sincere gestures of connection that attract me to making zoomorphic vessels. I love that my five year old sincerely enjoys my art and that adults I have never met send me love letters about how intensely joyful my art makes them feel. More than anything I have fun making these pots. I make myself laugh, and want to share these moments with friends.