Elise Deringer was born next to the sea in coastal Florida, raised on the edge of the prairie in rural Oklahoma, and followed the sunset west to Arizona in 2007.

Deringer’s work approaches the landscape through the lens of poetry and philosophy, and her abstract forms lie in the space between drawing and sculpture. Materials such as rocks, stones, concrete, and salt integrate with textiles - both found and constructed - to create spaces that pull the viewer in and out of tides, canyons, and other vast spaces. Her work shifts between scales, approaching the intimate and monumental at once, and utilizes pockets, containers, and filters as metaphors for questions surrounding the nature of holding on and letting go.

She holds a BFA in Sculpture from the University of Oklahoma and a MFA in Fiber from Arizona State University.