Elaine Coleman was born in Long Beach, CA. Coleman graduated from the Pacific Northwest College of the Arts in 1965 and went on to be a gallery director at the Moira James Gallery in Nevada. She is known for celadon glazed, incised and carved porcelain vessels. The incised decoration provides a channel for the glaze to pool creating a defined line when fired. Common motifs on her surfaces include foliate patterns, hummingbirds, dragonflies, butterflies and frogs. Coleman's celadon glazes range from green to blue. Her thrown porcelain vessels have soft, curvilinear profiles that echo the organic drawings on their surfaces. Frequently a motif such as a frog may push outward from the surface. She continues to work out of her studio/gallery with her husband Tom Coleman in Henderson, Nevada.

Coleman holds collections in the American Museum of Ceramic Art (CA), the Museum of Contemporary Crafts Permanent Collection (OR), the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (UT), the Portland Art Museum (OR), the Racine Art Museum (WI), the Sapporo Japan Sister City Collection (Japan), the State of Colorado Permanent Collection (CO), and the University of Illinois Permanent Collection (IL).