Elise Mahan was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and has lived in Northern California for most of her life. She received her BA in Art History and studio art at San Francisco State University. Her passion for learning more about Studio Art and Education led her to Sacramento State University where she obtained her MFA in Studio Art, May 2025.
My work involves doing rubbings at site specific places around Sacramento and along the American River, that I take and expand upon in my studio with a variety of media. I seek out marks and forms that exist in nature and translate these unique textures with graphite, oil stick, and pastel on linen. Cut tree stumps and burnt logs, downed trees, rock and bark textures all guide me in accumulating marks and shapes. Color, form, and mark making become a visual language as I expand them into large scale drawings which are an inquiry into the landscape, and a reference to life cycles, memory, and ecosystems throughout time.