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Ellen Kong

Renewed Spirit Series

I started working on this body of work in April 2021.  At that time, it seems the world as we knew it has gone and for what feels like such a long time we have experienced so much hardship due to this global pandemic.  All through the entire creating process of this " Renewed Spirit " series, I was talking to myself, as well as to the rest of the world.  As Picasso said: " Painting is just another way of keeping a diary ".

The first piece of this series, titled " Carolina Moon ",  was inspired by the song "Carolina Moon"  written by Joseph Burke that I learned long ago, while listening to Connie Francis on radio.  I wanted to capture within a small bowl, the magic of a dreamy Carolina moon, scattering its light over a tranquil little lake, with a rocky boat dock, surrounded by the fragrant lofty pines.  As the result, working on this piece has taught me the importance of transforming our minds to be aligned with goodness and optimism.

Thought makes form in artist's studio, following the "Carolina Moon", the " Beach Walk " emerged from clay.  The focus point of this piece is a courageous little crab travelling through the sand dunes and the sea weeds, making its marks along its journey.

I am quite sure everyone in North Carolina has heard of Mike Krzyzewski.  When Coach K said:  " There's nothing more important than attitude, it's your choice. "  That gets my attention and also  nudges me " to press on ", to remain optimistic and hopeful for what is yet to come.

Bright flames of our creative spirits do sparks energy that lights the way. Evidently "Let Me Play for Thee" is the result of the combination of many intricate artistic skills. Such as utilizing silk screen techniques to print music notes on clay, Nerikomi technique, a rather complicated process to create multiple colored clay patterns, for the quilt in the background. All together sets a stage for the imaginative musician to pick up the instrument to play for thee.

Echoing the violin music, the two birds are singing their Morning Duet in Bamboo Cove.  To celebrate the arrival of Spring, A Gardener's Eden mirrored the world outside the studio.

Time marches on, it seems we survived the year long pandemic, although may be battle-scarred.  Yet, I feel stronger.  I commit to looking at the future with fresh eyes and with Renewed Spirit. 

I chose cranes for the motifs for the last three pieces of this series, because crane symbolizes beauty, harmony and grace.  Most of all, it represents positive changes.  Let's pause to reflect the  Boundless Wonder around us.  May the tender moments of seeing someone again in person be all the more rich and treasured as the two cranes in the " Joyful Dance ".


To Ellen Kong, shaping clay is painting in space, transforming strong two-dimensional images and brilliant colors into three-dimensional forms. Airbrush, masking, and collage techniques enhance the surface textures. In contrast to the bright, radiant, oxidation-fired pieces, Kong utilizes smoke firing to create rich, luminous earth tone surfaces. Her delightful works combine the skill and discipline traditional oriental painting techniques with the unpredictable smoke from a sawdust-firing kiln. The flame-licking Raku kiln produces dramatic pieces, such as the elegant kimonos embellished with lustrous glazes and intricate textural designs. They give viewers a poetic fantasy and rich visual experiences.

“Kong was attracted to the kimono shape for several reasons. Traditional kimonos are cut on straight lines, like a canvas,” she explains. “But they are wrapped around a human form which gives three dimensions. She uses this three-dimensionality to impart the illusion of movement.” -Barbara McKenzie, Clay Times.

Kong was selected as the featured artist in the 10th Anniversary Exhibition of Toyama, Japan. Her works were also included in an Invitational Art Exhibition at the Target Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, the national exhibition space of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, juried by Stephen Phillips, associate curator of the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. She was twice a recipient of the Sarah Graham Kenan Grant Award.

Kong graduated Summa Cum Laude from Taiwan Normal University with a BFA, received her MFA from UNC-Greensboro, and has studied further at Penland and Idyllwild School of Music & the Arts in California. She is the author of The Great Clay Adventure. Her work is in numerous corporate and private collections, including the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Duke University Medical Center, Wachovia Bank, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Artist Statement:

My roots as a painter have branched freely into my current interests in ceramics. Thus surface and form have become mutually dependent in my work.  I seek surface designs that rise, dance, and express three-dimensional forms. Painting and sculpture cross-pollinate, yielding synergistic, hybrid forms.

Like the horticulturist, I must devote time to nurture each individual work.  Creating with clay is forever new to me.  It is challenging, and intriguing.  I like to construct cascading ceramic series, in which one work flows into the next. This sculptural stream of consciousness intrigues me as a vehicle to capture ideas and forms.  The incessant pursuit of the ever-expanding boundaries of technique and images nourishes me.  In my work, wind-borne seeds sown long ago germinate and bloom unexpectedly, defying time and space.  In a unique fashion, they emerge and transform into design elements that reflect my own passage.