Elysia Verhoeven (Dussen, The Netherlands, 1953)

Elysia started with ceramic art in 1974 as a student of Jan Müller in his pottery at Orvelte. In the studio the pottery-wheel turned round and round producing utensils. Besides a lot of experimenting was done in stoking-techniques. It proved to be a good training-school lasting until 1979. In Orvelte Elysia learned the trade and a foundation was laid for the ceramic art she developed in later years.

After 1979 Elysia left Holland for a world-tour with her friend, but got stuck in India at the ashram of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in Pune. Many westerners went to this ashram to find answers to the vital questions that could not be answered by the secular western society. Bhagwan stood for liberation, ecstacy and eventual enlightenment. The ashram was for the greater part self-supporting and Elysia worked in the pottery for quite some time. Although she had to work hard individually, the emphasis was more on co-operation. This was very inspiring: in the studio people from all over the world worked together. Here working was a form of meditation and the leading theme in Elysia's ceramic work came into being, namely, the relationship with people, the inner self and Nature.

Afterwards Elysia made trips to Sri-Lanka, Thailand and Nepal. In France, Canada and America she spent longer periods. During these trips she stayed in many potteries developing further her ceramic techniques. In canada she planted trees as an employee of great forestries. To Elysia these trips were intense experiences that inspired and shaped her into the artist she is now.

After these period of travelling Elysia returned to Holland. In Groningen her son Bram was born. Time had now come to establish a home-studio. Her work was sold through small galleries and in art-markets. Elysia established together with other artists the set-up of the present art-market at the Spui in Amsterdam more than 15 years ago.

After her stay at Groningen and Amsterdam Elysia landed in Drenthe again, first at Geeuwenbrug, later at Dwingeloo. Here the ceramic production got well under way. At a given moment the opportunity presented itself to hire a shed owned by Nature Reserve, next to the Visitor's Centre at the Benderse near Ruinen. With the help of relatives and friends Elysia managed to change this shed into a gallery and studio. Now sale and production went on with prosperity. During this time I got acquainted with Elysia (1997).

Due to circumstances she had to leave this place after three years and we removed the studio to the farm at Dwingeloo, where she finally arrived on the spot where she is living and working now. In the course of years I learned to know Elysia as a modest woman who manages to put all her expressivenes into her work. She determines what she makes herself, free from trends and schools. I came to appreciate her work as original and completely personal in structure and manufacture. Her work enjoys a wide public recognition, in view of the public awards she was granted at the annual ceramic-markets in Gouda. This website presents an impression of the extensive oeuvre from this artist and her present work.

Siemen Dykstra, Dwingeloo, spring 2006.

Ceramic Art by Elysia Verhoeven.

The ceramic art I make is an expression of my emotions; it rejoices my heart. After making the bowls, dishes and vases on the wheel I continue to elaborate them by carving and scratching, adding clay and cutting out pieces. Mostly I don't make sketches or drawings but just set myself at the table with a bowl or dish and the idea starts to take shape. I let myself be inspired by nature, manners of growing and structures of flowers and the peace and tranquility in myself. Furthermore I work with clay-slabs for the birds, rees, large vases and woodcut-ceramics. As supporting colour for glazes I often use engobes, these are painted on the leather-hard clay. I make the glazes myself. I love soft colours in a lively glaze. Every winter I do some experiments in search of new engobes and glazes. After having applied the glazes it is being heated at earthenware temperature (1270 degrees).

The attention I give to my work I experience as a form of meditation.

Graphic Ceramic Art; a symbiosis.

In her work Elysia shows great interest in structures and textures. She sometimes makes use of prints with extant structures like tree-bark which she then uses as a starting-point for vases, dishes and objects. Searching for new structures she accidently ran up against the finished woodplates piled up in Siemen's studio. Although no woodcuts could be printed with them anymore (for only the last impression is still on the plate) Siemen still hesitated to throw them away. He has done industrious work on them for months. However, Elysia saw a possibility to make an impression of the finished plywood in a slab of fine-grained clay. The result was surprising: every gouge-trace and cutting-remnants were shown in detail in the clay. The clay-slabs were put together, bent and modelled afterwards. Then they were baked bisque-like. An anxious moment followed for the slabs were put under great pressure. When no cracks were visible the objects were painted, glazed and stoked. The result is always different though. Although the impression of the original woodcut is moulded into the object, Elysia always manages to give it a personal twist which makes it really interesting. The glazes she applies makes the objects look transparent as a result of which people are led astray asking: “Is this glass?”. We dubbed this work: grapic-ceramic art. It is a literal symbiosis of a woodcut with a ceramic object and it also shows the versatility of the ceramist in her speciality...