Decorah artist Elizabeth Maurland's ceramic platter to be presented to King and Queen of Norway

Decorah artist Elizabeth Maurland has created a ceramic platter to be given to the King and Queen of Norway Thursday at Luther College's Royal Convocation for the King and Queen.

The 17-inch platter is wheel-thrown, made of white stoneware clay and decorated with colored slips and an incised design.  It was covered with a clear glaze and fired to 2200°F in an electric kiln.  The image incorporates a slender wading crane as a black silhouette set against a backdrop of grains. Cranes live both in the Midwest and in Norway.

Maurland was born in Oslo, Norway, and arrived in the United States in 1984. She holds the bachelor of arts degree in art from Luther and the master of arts degree from Illinois State University.

From 1989 to 1994, Maurland apprenticed at Genszler Stoneware Designs in Wisconsin, makers of stoneware dinnerware and pottery. In 1994, Maurland opened her own pottery studio in Decorah, where she continues to work and live with her husband and daughter.