Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elite Shaier. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Elite, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
I started my romance with ceramics when I was a high school teacher, about ten years
ago. The art teacher, Cheryl Mybro, offered free classes on the wheel for teachers and I
was thrilled. I did, however, suck at the wheel, the clay flying all over the studio and my
pieces looked very organic and not in a good way. To hide it, I covered it with faces and
dragons and then fell in love with sculpting. Some years later, I took a wonderful bust
workshop with Filippe Faraut and discovered my talent. Today I have my
studio in which I make usable art such as sculptured mugs and vases and wall art made
of mosaics but also fantastic animals. Almost all incorporate my love for animals, from
elephants to bees to pigs and of course, dragons, duckozaurous and snailozaurus.
The other side of my creativity is writing. I write novels, fiction and fantasy, short stories,
and poems some of which were published in magazines and anthologies. My first novel,
Constrictor was published in September 2024 by Catharsis publish house in Israel and
the second is due at the beginning of 2025.
I am most proud of the fact that I reinvented myself at this late age and that my brain
keeps supplying me with wild and wonderful ideas.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I would have loved to have started all of this at a young age. We didn’t have art classes
at school back then and all I had ever done was doodling when I was bored in class,
which happened a lot. Private classes weren’t that common in Israel in the seventies
and eighties, and I didn’t get any encouragement at home. I painted my first portrait
when I was seventeen and it wasn’t half bad, but I didn’t engage seriously in art until my
forties which is a shame because I believe that art would have helped me with my
depression and anxiety.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I would have loved to have started all of this at a young age. We didn’t have art classes
at school back then and all I had ever done was doodling when I was bored in class,
which happened a lot. Private classes weren’t that common in Israel in the seventies
and eighties, and I didn’t get any encouragement at home. I painted my first portrait
when I was seventeen and it wasn’t half bad, but I didn’t engage seriously in art until my
forties which is a shame because I believe that art would have helped me with my
depression and anxiety.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to enrich myself by trying new things with clay, with writing and any other
form of art. I have sculpted busts, dragons and impossible, imaginary animals. I’ve done
mosaic, human faced pots and mugs. I’ve written and published novels and short
stories. I dabbled in Kung Fu for a couple of years (now it’s the yoga era for me). And
one thing I can say for sure is that I would rather dip my toes in as many art forms as
possible than to be an expert in one.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elitetheartist.net
- Instagram: @Elite The Artist
