Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, as a child Elvira studied painting with Yvonne Rust and was told when she started potting not to touch her clay…that was her introduction to clay. Elvira began potting in Redcliffs, Christchurch when she had her children and was a member of Canterbury Potters before moving to Sydney, Australia in the eighties. She then studied Art at University of Western Sydney, working mainly in acrylic and collage and clay.

Elvira has won a first in Sydney's Royal Easter show for Wheel Thrown work and also the Ku-ring-gai Art Society Grand Prize for her Mixed Media work. She considered herself a bit of a recluse, living a potters life in Dural in Sydney's rural outer rim. For twenty odd years Elvira was a full-time potter, firing two big gas kilns every week making domestic ware and garden pottery, and small sculptures. Many of these were based on fat ladies which reflected her love of painting figures.

Elvira moved back to New Zealand five years ago and recently built a new studio, bought an electric kiln and once again began playing with mud.