Artwork copyright Elissa Greisz. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.

Artwork copyright Elissa Greisz. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.

The Sea Beast Still Remembers, 1991

Elissa Greisz
American (born 1939)

Location: Terrace Park Elementary School, Mountlake Terrace

About the Artwork

The Sea Beast Still Remembers is an elaborate and vibrant mixed-media artwork by artist Elissa Greisz. It is composed in a multi-layered process using paint and small pieces of iridescent foil on linoleum tiles. Greisz notes that her imagery was inspired by "the plants and animals of sea life, biomorphic life forms, geometric shapes, and science fiction illustrations, etc. I brought those shapes together, arranged and rearranged, added and deleted until the dialogue between the shapes felt right and there was a psychological melodrama that worked on a formal level, too."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Edmonds School District.

About the Artist

Elissa Greisz is a Port Townsend, Washington-based artist who creates abstract mixed-media wall sculptures, paintings, and weavings. Her work emphasizes intricate patterns. She notes “I borrow from Byzantine art, my Mexican heritage, sci-fi illustrations, other art, ornamentation, jewelry and tattoos. And the transformation of inert materials becomes my modern-day alchemy.”
Greisz studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Art and Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She moved to Washington State in 1983.