Elaine Brewer-White

Elaine Brewer-White was born in Saskatoon in 1961 and raised in Calgary, AB. She studied at the University of Calgary and graduated from the Honours program at Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1986. Elaine now works as a professional ceramic sculptor in Fort Langley, BC.

She is known for her provocative personifications of real and imaginary people, and her sculptures have dignity and whimsy and a beautiful sense of humour. Elaine's work has been widely exhibited across North America and features many corporate collections and public art installations.

"Although I have spent most of my career sculpting the human figure – 'non-human' entities have been a subject matter I keep coming back to. Many years ago, I did a show titled 'Chairman of the Bored' – about dogs on chairs – I like the idea of countering what is expected of dogs to stay off the furniture and behave. These dogs had agendas that did not revolve around human constructs of 'stay and sit.'

I now find myself contemplating even less tamed creatures – with a focus on Canadian. My 'Canadian Wildlife' series is a playful exploration of combining the wild with the urban.

We consider some animals to be tamer than others because they manage to live in the urban environment we have created. My crow portraits are very urban, to the point where they have adopted the human desire for clothing – or, more to the point, red bathing suits. Other animals are testing the tools of urban life. This grizzly appears to be exhibiting stress because of his cell phone and briefcase… or a black bear attempting the human ideal of relaxation by drifting in a canoe. Then there's the beaver who is optimizing his time by collecting wood for his dam in a boat… time is money!" -Elaine Brewer-White