Born Deaf in Manhattan, New York but grew up in New Jersey for 7 years. Went to public school where Ellen learned poorly without sign language and interpreters. Spent all summers in Golden's Bridge countryside, north of New York City.  She earned a BFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

  Ellen has led a life filled with art and experiences with a background in drawing, painting, batik, ceramics, and many other media that have brought her onto her current journey.

  When she moved to Maryland, she began to recognize just how much her Deaf identity had been part of her artwork. Life was starting to blossom as she was surrounded by Deaf culture and sign language, which developed increasingly colorful images including watercolors , oil paintings  and tile paintings in her artwork.

  Ellen had commissions for hand painted tiles for mural decorations, kitchen back-splashes, fireplace mantel surroundings, and murals behind ranges for past 29 years. She led many workshops in ceramics, drawings and paintings for over 500 Deaf children, hearing children of Deaf parents, and Deaf adults. 

  Ellen keeps a home studio called Ellen’s TileStroke Studio in Frederick.  The studio has a kiln for firing both low and high fire tiles from green ware to final glazing in the range of 1922 and 2174 degrees.

  She works in a variety of aesthetic and technical styles including sculpted relief, carved plaster blocks, tile presses and mosaic tiles. All the tiles are finished in a wide palate of earthenware and stoneware glazes.