Elder didn’t begin her artistic journey until after conquering the business world. Creative Pinellas wrote an article about Elder describing that she, “was not able to truly devote time to her creative journey until after retiring from her life in the business world. Now that she has removed her corporate “hat”, her surroundings constantly inspire her artistic expression. After making her first ceramic piece in 2014, Sondra was hooked. Her journey has taken her to study with Spanish, Australian, English, and American ceramic artists to develop her skills”. When asked about why she chose ceramics as her artistic medium, Elder said, “Whenever I saw someone make something with clay, I was fascinated. I decided to try it and found that I was horrible at it. Everything I made was so ugly. BUT, I was having the time of my life when my hands were in the clay. This told me that it was a path I wanted to stay on. I still feel this way when my hands are in the mud. I know that I am no longer horrible at it; and as long as it makes my soul feel good, I will continue”. Although her artistic career began later, Elder has mastered the ability to challenge herself to continue learning and to produce excellence; “I am a self-taught artist who focused on art much later in life than many other artists. I can’t say that I have been mentored by another artist. I challenge myself to follow my heart and let creativity come naturally”.
