The German artist Dorothea Elisabeth Piper, also known under her artist name ELIA, has been living and working south of Berlin since 1980.
Since 1956, she spent her childhood in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, an old historical city known for its rich traditions, and studied pedagogy in Potsdam.
After another degree in accounting and controlling, and the birth of three wonderful children, she devoted herself completely to art. In 2002 she opened her workshop ELIA in Ludwigsfelde. She loves to share her passion for painting and teaching during classes in her own painting school, in her workshop, and as an independent painting tutor. She supports the Volkshochschule Teltow-Fläming and the Akademie 2. Lebenshälfte on a voluntary basis and practices art with seniors.

She prefers to paint her exhibition pieces in an intuitive way and in the impressionistic style. Yet her favorite artistic tools remain poignant watercolors or atmospheric pastels. She likes to explore all available means of creativity and artistic expression. For this reason, her paintings are very different from each other, spontaneous, and authentic. For more than 21 years she has been working independently as a painter and freelance art tutor. She had numerous solo exhibitions in regional and international venues. In the past few years, she has been on tour in many countries including Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the USA, and England. Her work is represented in notable catalogues for contemporary art.

Another direction of her versatile activities can be seen in her work as an author and illustrator. For several years Dorothea Elisabeth Piper has been writing and designing literature. In 2003, her book "The Reiki Message" was published by the Silberschnurverlag. This book, accompanied by a set of illustrated cards, was created on the initiative and in cooperation with Marion Mietke from Berlin and published in Germany and the Netherlands. Elia has designed the book cover for "The Land of Promise" by Manfred Kyber, published by Genius-Verlag.

In her new project "...For your own sake! An essay on the way to yourself" Elia was able to contribute more than a combination of her proven artistic and literary talents. The new twinset, consisting of a book and a set of 78 cards with stunning watercolor artwork, leads the readers back to their inner self in a contemplative way. This project is soon to be published.