Artist: Elliott Kayser
Elliott Kayser, MICHIGAN
View Artist's Products
ARTIST BIO
Elliott Kayser (41) is a full-time studio artist living in Ypsilanti, MI. He has a six-year-old daughter who reminds him to stay playful in the studio and knows which animals will be a hit. Elliott has a few studio assistants who help keep him on track and this summer they are going to build a soda kiln.
ARTIST STATEMENT
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.
EDUCATION
2017 Arizona State University
MFA in Ceramics
2007 Alfred University
BFA with a minor in Art History
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
06/17 – Current Kayser Ceramics LLC
Owner and operator
08/23 – Current Yourist Pottery Studio
Instructor
Course: Advanced Wheel, glaze chemistry, handbuilding
08/23 – 12/24 Ann Arbor Potters Guild
Instructor
Course: Intermediate Ceramics
08/23 – 12/24 Washtenaw Community College
Adjunct faculty in Ceramics
Course: Ceramics 1, 2 & 3
10/20 – 06/23 Sarah Kersten Studios
Production Manager
Full-time
09/19 – 05/20 Mesa Community College
Adjunct faculty in Ceramics
Courses: Ceramics 1
06/17 – 04/20 Mesa Arts Center
Artist in Residence, Instructor and Technician
Courses: Mold making, advanced wheel, teen wheel, beginning handbuilding, tile making, life sculpture.
04/19 – 06/19 Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park
Guest Artist
2-month residency
06/18 – 09/18 Arizona State University, HIDA
Adjunct faculty in Ceramics
Course: Ceramics Survey
09/17 – 01/18 Paradise Valley Community College
Adjunct faculty
Courses: Ceramics split-level
Arizona State University
Instructor of record, Herberger Institute of Design and Art
Courses: Ceramics Survey; 3D Design; Career and Professional Development
06/16 – 07/16 Apprentice for Dirk Staschke
1-month residency
06/16 – 07/16 Mudshark Studios
1-month Internship
09/10 – 06/14 Motawi Tileworks
Production Staff & Glaze Chemist
Full-time
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Elliott Kayser
Schaller Gallery
Baroda, MI
2022 Unsettled Land
The Artery
Davis, CA
2020 Year of the Pig
Fuller Craft Museum
Brockton, MA
The Shape of Time
2-person with Paul Briggs
Eutectic Gallery
Portland, OR
JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2024 25th San Angelo Ceramic Competition San Angelo Museum of Fine Art,
juror Louise Rosenfield
San Angelo, TX
2018 Fahrenheit 2018
American Museum of Ceramic Art
juror Patti Warashina
Pomona, CA
2017 Zanesville Prize
Seiler’s Gallery
juror’s Leslie Ferrin, Tony Marsh, & Mary Jo Bole
Zanesville, OH
NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition
Hoffman Gallery
juror’s Linda Arbuckle & Justin Novak
Portland, OR
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026 Animalia
Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center
Birmingham, MI
2025 Terra Forma
Tempe Center of the Arts
Tempe, AZ
Holding Space
Studio & Gallery
Durango, CO
Great Lakes Cup Show
Yourist Studio and Gallery
Ann Arbor, MI
2024 Double Feature
WSG Gallery
Ann Arbor, MI
2021 Human and Animal
Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park Museum
Shigaraki, Japan
2019 Animals Among Us
Red Lodge Clay Center
Red Lodge, MT
2018 Canary Syndrome
Ferrin Contemporary
North Adams, MA
We The People: Serving Notice
American Museum of Ceramic Art
Pomona, CA
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2025 Visiting Artist in Residence
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2019 Guest Artist-in-residence
Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Center
2018 First place award
Western Colorado Center for the Arts: Contemporary Clay 2018
Juror’s Choice (39th Contemporary Crafts Exhibition)
Solo Show at Mesa Contemporary Art Museum
2017 Honorable Mention
The Clay Studio: Graduate Student Biennial 2017