Biography

Writing one’s biography is an interesting process. At first you might think you have done little that is worth writing down. Then, when you think about it, you have actually accomplished quite a bit. One memory leads to another and pretty soon you have a story.

Themes emerge from all the activities in a life. I am a life-long learner. I am an innovator. Animals are one of the most important things to me in the world. Here is my story unfolding…

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and are shown for educational and inspirational purposes only.

Prior to Ellen’s career as a Stone Sculptor, she was a Directing Animator and Character Animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation for 20 years

At Disney, she brought to life many well-known characters, including Zazu, the hornbill in “The Lion King“, and Pegasus the flying horse in “Hercules“. She was a significant artist during Disney’s Second Golden Age of Animation and animated on all the contemporary classics from “The Little Mermaid“, “Beauty and the Beast“, and “Aladdin” to “Chicken Little“.

Woodbury resigned her position at Disney in 2005 and moved to Loveland, Colorado to pursue a career as an independent sculptor. She sculpts with power tools and finds the process of carving exhilarating.

Ellen exclaims, “Sculpting in stone is like walking a fine line between creation and destruction — one false move with a tool and you suddenly have two stones!”

Woodbury was well-known in the Animation Industry for her ability to animate animals, and loves carving animals in stone — stylized, and with a bit of whimsy.

“I apply my knowledge of and experience in animation to my process of designing and carving stone. The result yields a strong sense of movement and life in my sculptures. I think of my creative life as an ascending spiral where one medium inspires and informs another.“

Save the Tiger, sculpture by Ellen Woodbury

Ellen grew up in Corning, New York. She attended the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University where she earned her BFA in Film and Art.

She then went on to California Institute of the Arts where she earned her MFA in Experimental Animation. Her student films won national and international awards, which led to a long career as a Disney Animator.

Ellen moved to Loveland with the intention to sculpt in clay to create bronze. Soon after arriving, she attended a workshop in stone sculpting at the Loveland Museum taught by a Zimbabwean master sculptor. "The experience was fantastic!"

That same year, Ellen attended the Marble/marble Symposium in Marble, Colorado where she learned how to handle stone and to carve with power tools . . . and the adventure continues.

Listen Hard, Walk Softly, sculpture by Ellen Woodbury

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Biography