She Lives, Studies and Creates in Cupertino:
Art Student Kathleen Elliot Wins a National Award for Sculpture

For Release: March 1, 2005
Source: De Anza College

De Anza College art student Kathleen Elliot, who lives and operates a glass studio in Cupertino, was one of only 19 student artists in the country to be honored with a coveted 2005 NICHE Student Award for work based on these criteria: technical excellence and creativity, both in surface design and form; and a distinct quality of unique and original thought.

The annual competition is sponsored by NICHE magazine, an exclusive trade publication for North American retailers of American craft. The winners were announced on Feb. 20 at an awards ceremony held at the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft, the nation’s largest wholesale craft event. Elliot attended the ceremony.

She won in the category of sculpture for her piece titled “Botanica: Plums.” Elliot says it means a lot to her to receive this endorsement from the art community. “I spend a great deal of time alone working in my studio. Except for my work in the classroom, I don’t have many opportunities to talk with other artists or have my work critiqued,” she explained. “Winning a NICHE award really bolsters my confidence.”

It is difficult for Elliot to part with some of her art pieces, especially ones like “Plums in Glass” that she thinks take on a distinctive life of their own. “My own art is inspired by such wonders as flower petals, the pattern of veins in leaves, the shiny blackness of crows and changing colors of autumn leaves — a hundred intricate and intimate moments in a day that can take my breath away if I remember to stop, listen, look around.”

Elliot primarily studies art at De Anza, although for three summers she also attended the Pilchuck Glass School, which was founded by Dale Chihuly, is located in Seattle, Wash., and is solely devoted to the exploration of glass. She also took an intermediate drawing class at Foothill College and has participated in various workshops at art schools specializing in glass.

“All my De Anza art classes have been most beneficial,” she said. “I appreciate art history that includes learning about art in different cultures and how it unfolded through history, as well as learning about different artists and their styles of work. In addition, I enjoy hands-on classes such as design, drawing and ceramics.”

Her favorite aspect of art is exploration and experimentation, such as trying new techniques, new materials and new designs. “All of that creativity really feeds the development of my work, and I just need to do that,” she continued. “I can’t just make the same things over and over. I'll never stop learning!”

Elliot and her husband Brent, an entrepreneur in the semiconductor industry, are raising five children; so the national award winner has a busy schedule as an artist, student and parent. Their children range in age from 7 to 17 years old.

Published by the Baltimore-based Rosen Group, NICHE magazine began the student awards program in 1996 to honor the next generation of craft makers and to complement its professional awards competition that began several years earlier. To find out more about the NICHE awards, visit http://www.AmericanCraft.com.

To find out about art courses at De Anza, visit the visit the college Web site at www.deanza.edu or call the Creative Arts Division Office at (408) 864-8832.