Elmeater Morton gradually developed her practice as an artist at progressive art programs in Portland (Project Grow, Art From the Heart, Public Annex, & PALS), cultivating the kind of compositional confidence and gestural integrity possessed by master painters and veteran school teachers wielding red pens. The distance between imagination and image, between thought and expression is a turbulent and often challenging,  intimidating, and indecisive space for artists, especially those who express abstractly and gesturally. In moments of creative expression, Elmeater casually inhabits this creative space with grace, diligence, and composure. She is casually and sometimes smugly productive, generating masterpieces and cohesive bodies of work without breaking a sweat. 

Place, family and relationships are common themes informing Elmeater’s body of abstract work. Her dense paintings are composed of layers of scratchy, repetitive marks that seem to reflect the weight of emotional mileposts as she captures the historic landscapes of her past.  Her recent experiments in fiber and collage playfully expand on her paintings and drawings in their jarring layered juxtapositions, surprising humor, and bold use of uncommon materials. 

She announces definitively when a piece is done. Long,  descriptive, and sometimes surprising titles punctuate the completion of an artwork. Others in the throes of their own creative journey at Elbow Room take note. “One more, and that’s all.” She says, “And tomorrow is my day-off.”