Born January 12, 1912 in Taney County, Missouri, Elsie knew from a very early age she wanted to be an artist. While cultivating her career as an artist and saving money to attend the Kansas City Art Institute, Elsie spent time teaching before running a gift shop in Branson, Missouri where “she made trophies by molding live fish in plaster of Paris, using the mold to cast a plaster model of the fish, which she later painted, as well as jewelry that she made out of walnut shells” (source).
Though Elsie was also a painter and watercolorist, her ability for craft and jewelry making was what set her apart. In fact, much of her jewelry was represented in national periodicals in the ‘60s and was a major source of income for her and husband Louis. She used many materials for her jewelry but primarily clay, glass, and copper and aluminum wire as a blatant eschewing of the materials used for mass production. Elsie’s strong sense of who she was as a jewelry maker worked tremendously well, as her work is represented in several prestigious national and international museums.
Elsie married Louis in Hatchet Hall, the famous former home of popular prohibitionist Cary Nation, on July 6, 1939. Louis purchased the home for $300, and the residence served as both their home and the art school they operated from 1940 to 1951.
Elsie passed away on June 14, 2001 in Little Rock and is buried in Eureka Springs. She and Louis never had any children.
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