Katy Perry has described her marriage to Russell Brand as a ''very tiny elephant''.

The 'Firework' hitmaker - who split from the British comic in December 2011, just 14 months after they tied the knot - also described the union as ''tchotchke'', a Yiddish word which means ''small bauble or trifle with connotations of worthlessness or disposability and tackiness''.

Asked about her marriage at the ASCAP 'I Create Music' Expo in Hollywood last week, she said: ''It's a very tiny elephant. It's like a little tchotchke now. The Big D - you can say it.''

Katy - who recently split from musician John Mayer - is excited about working on her third album, but admits she finds writing with her regular collaborators Bonnie McKee, Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Greg Kurstin can be like ''emotional abuse''.

She said: ''It's like the dream team. They push me the most, and also argue the most. It's an emotional abuse session.''

And the brunette beauty regards herself as a ''student of life'' as she is constantly searching for new sources of lyrical material.

She explained: ''I'm a student of life. Words are like little treasures. I put all of my ideas in a folder, whether I read them in newspaper or through a conversation with friends. I've got years of titles and things I want to write about.''

Last month, Russell spoke out about his marriage, poking fun at the elephants they rode at the ceremony in India.

He said: ''It was a drag, man. Let me tell you a thing about marriage: Marriage is a bond that can last up to 14 months. This is a sacred 14-month arrangement - begins on an elephant, ends in a newspaper.''