a little color in your (my) life

It is time for color again...don't you think? Though I have thoroughly enjoyed making the black and white collection I have missed color. Besides spring is coming soon...I know those of you who are snowed in up to your eyeballs right now are probably feeling like it will never happen but it will it always does so hang in there.

These sweet little bowls are for sale, I am offering to them to you my blog friends... They can be yours but I do have limited quantities of each color so it is first come first serve. Just a little hint...I am going to be posting some new things for sale all this week.

All these bowls are 4"x4" x2.5" and are $44 each. They are all food safe though not recommended for the dishwasher. They do however love the individual attention of being hand washed. Don't we all ;)

please email me at diana@dianafayt.com with your request.

small bowl with chartreuse interior $44
3 available

small bowl with canary interior $44
1 available

small bowl with ice blue interior $44
1 available

I also want to thank each and everyone of you for all your well wishes for my show and all your encouraging words and suggestions regarding my work and making it as a self supporting artist. Many of you have said that you hope I don't give up what I do...I never have intended to give up on making my work. I just might have to lead a double life again (which I have been trying to avoid and have already done for many, many years). You will be the first to know as changes occur but in the mean time you can help a girl out and keep her from having to get a real job by buying some bowls.

you are invited

Xen gallery invitation front; Diana Fayt ceramic platter & Clare Goddard collage

It is time to put worries aside...put on something nice to wear and show the world my smiling face (because I am smiling). Please join me for the opening of my show at Xen Gallery tomorrow evening. It will be a virtual opening (for me included as I won't actually be there). I will imagine us finally meeting and exchanging handshakes and hugs, oh yes, so many hugs, with all of you.

You can see the show here
and
if you are interested in purchasing any of the pieces you can do so here.

Also showing along side of me is my dear friend Clare Goddard who makes the most lovely collages from all kinds of found ephemera and used tea bags. Her work is simply stunning. Clare lives in Helsinki, Finland and runs a small gallery called Compost.

I look so forward to seeing you all there!

two sides of the journey

two swallows large oval bowl 16" x 11"

Hello Friends, I have missed my regular forays in to the little bloggy world that I have become a part of and has become a part of me. Things have been moving in all kinds of directions though I am not sure which direction I am moving in myself. It has been a very difficult couple of weeks. I have been forced to do some serious reassessment of my situation and how feasible it is to continue on without having a secondary job to rely on for income. My friends have called worried about me. Rightly so, in that I am lucky to have friends who will put it to me straight. In all honesty I have struggled for years now. I have never been able to get a leg up financially, always just squeezing by, hanging in there sometimes by the thinnest of threads. It isn't easy to talk about much less publicly admit. I get so much support to keep on from people and I do believe in myself and what I do. The problem is that no matter how many accolades I receive, shows offered and even orders made it is a difficult to make a living at what I do. Many people say, with the best of sentiments, that it will all work out... but when I sit down to pay my bills I see that it isn't all working out. When I don't have health insurance I see it isn't all working out. When I lay awake at night hoping that nothing will happen to me for fear of not being able to take care of myself it really truly does not feel like it is all working out.

I think the most frustrating part of all of this is the thought of reinventing myself or redirecting what I have worked so hard at doing and a life I have created for myself so that I can eat and pay my bills. The question in my mind is that if I do get a real job, will that help me sleep better at night or will I still lay awake frustrated by the fact that I have had to give up my dreams of being a self supporting artist?

the whole sh'bang

work for xen gallery show 2007

I feel as if I am stealing moments on computers in all kinds of interesting environments...this morning's adventures included an Internet stop in at a local print shop "one stop printing" that is around the corner from my apartment. Wilson the owner even took the time to buy me a cup of tea and later showed me his behind the scenes swanky bar he had set up in the back "office". He said "any time I'd like to stop in for a drink I should not hesitate." So the loss of the computer has made me some new friends and now I have a new "underground" watering hole.

So here is the table full of work before I shipped off for my show. It is very pleasing for me to see it all together like this. I wanted to share it with you too.

You have all been so wonderful with your comments and have really made me feel so much better and richer for my loss. There a many computers out there in the world to be had and I know one will come my way soon. I have to admit I am kinda having fun frequenting all different Internet cafes and meeting all kinds of new and interesting folks. As Wilson said to me this morning " Well, Diana I am sure glad you destroyed your computer otherwise you would of never come in here and I wouldn't have ever met you." Cheers friends! It's time for a drink!

friends

the whale and the polar bear ; two large deep bowls 10"x 10" x 5"

A quick post to extend a heartfelt thanks for all of your support. All of your comments have lightened my spirits immensly. Thank you!

hangin' in there

I have to admit I have become totally attached to having computer and being without one is really cramping my style. Today the stress of being an independent artist really broadsided me. I packed up all the work for the Xen Gallery show and shipped it off and I made the deadline for the calender to be finished. It is relieving but working for the future does not always bring money in today. It is sometimes gets very tight financially and the loss of my computer has just exacerbated my feelings of struggle.

I am doing my best not to feel sorry for myself...and I am constantly reminded of the good fortune in my life but I gotta say being an Artist does not make one financially secure. Sometimes it gets really,really scary. These are the times when I think to myself I am going to go to work for a big company designing nic nacs and get a regular paycheck with benefits.

I know it will all work out. It always does and now that I don't have my computer to distract me maybe I will finish that book that I have been trying to read for the past three months.

composed

this photo was taken of me in December 2005 by my friend Eszter

...is not how I am feeling at the moment. It all started with the thumb slicing. Fast forward to Friday...I am walking towards my desk, tea cup in hand, grasped by my fingers and bandaged thumb and then I don't remember what happened next. All that I can recall is the vision of my tea cup falling from my hand (slipped out of my grip because of the bandage) and no, not on my computer...yes on my computer...tea all over my computer. Folks funeral services for my trusty, ever faithful laptop will be held tomorrow at dawn. Please, no flowers, just well wishes and prayers that a new laptop will soon be mine. Not a good week for this black bird. I've had bad electronic luck for the past month. My digital camera died about three weeks ago and if it counts my blow drier died while I was trying to dry out said computer. This lovely bird saved me by lending me her extra camera, which I am extremely grateful for and my ever fabulous neighbor saved my butt by letting me use his laptop to finish my calendar which is due on Monday...holy crap!

On a brighter note, the work for my show is coming along swimmingly! I am doing my final firing this weekend and then I ship off all the goods on Monday. I will try to keep posting when I can but due to the sudden, unexpected death of my computer, it may be bit spotty.

a slice of life (and my finger)

the black bird & the lupine
platter 12.5"x 10"

It is 8:36 p.m here in San Francisco as I write this. I have been going for the past twelve hours, non stop. Yesterday was like this too, in fact most of my days are like this. As I often say to my friends if I don't do it, it doesn't get done. That is the way it is...not a complaint at all, just the facts. So I thought it might be fun to give you a list of the things I did today.

1. wake up 7:45 a.m.
   
2. make tea, turn on computer, fix bed
3. check email
4. design a calendar page, check designs I did last night, modify and readjust.
   
5. pack up up boxes that are laying on my couch to be shipped.
6. make some oatmeal
7. take a shower
8. eat oatmeal
9. write emails
10. make a list of things to do
11. put boxes to be shipped in car
12. get dressed
13. make lunch
    
14. go to post office , mail packages.
15. drive to studio
16. check the pieces I left to set up on molds
17. remove pieces from molds
18. load kiln
19. mix slip & pour into molds
20. clean up the rims of pieces to get them ready to paint
21. draw design for job I am working on
22. eat lunch (standing up)
23. continue working on cleaning & trimming pieces
24. check molds
25. pour off the slip and let molds drain
26. make a phone call to set up a photo shoot
27. draw designs on cups
28. get a phone call talk to Whitney
    
29. start kiln
30. remove pieces from molds
31. cover work in plastic so it won't dry out
32. clean up
33. drive home
34. make dinner
35. check email
36. work on calendar
37. write blog while eating dinner

I did all of this while being a little handicapped. I sliced off part of the tip of my thumb (on my drawing hand) on Saturday while slicing potatoes with my brand new, fancy, Japanese vegetable slicer. The blade is so sharp that I did not feel a thing...until the next day when I realised a big chunk of my thumb and nail were missing. Ouch & Ick! I am on the mend and am keeping the wounded thumb protected with bandages and a finger condom. Can I stop now? I still need to work but just when does a day end? Would someone please tell me because I can't seem to figure it out.

cups for sale!

1. eszter tea cups small 3oz $27
2-taller 2-shorter

2. eszter tea cups medium 5oz $29
11 total

3. estzer cups large 11oz $34
3 total

So here is my compromise for not having my shop page up and running on my website...

All of the cups are handmade by moi. They are cast from an original mold and then I embellish each cup by hand. The interiors of the small cups are green and the large cups are all natural. They are made with a stoneware clay so they are very durable, dishwasher safe and microwavable if you are so inclined.

Please email me here with your request and I will respond with an email to confirm your order and how to proceed with payment (paypal). Orders will be granted on a first come first serve basis. If you would specify your order by the proceeding number I have given each cup and the size that would be very helpful. Thanks!

Also I will be posting a few different styles on Sunday so if you miss out on these there will be more to come.

three swallows & a rose

When did it become February? I thought February didn't start until tomorrow. A calendar maker like me should know what day it is, if not that, at least what month it is. January seemed to slip away. I've been holed up in the studio, not lifting my head for much else other than to eat, sneak in a run here and there and obviously not to look at a calendar!

I made a deal with myself not to begin any new pieces until ALL the ones I started are completed. Sometimes I don't finish a few last pieces, leaving them to dry out on my shelves which is a waste and a source self imposed frustration. I am almost there. If all goes as planned, I will be finished with everything tomorrow. Then I can start on my next project and the few small orders that are next in line.

I know I promised that my shop would have new stuff in it in January. Yeah, yeah, promises, promises! That was the optimistic, back in December, thinking she'd be able to get it all done, me. Too bad I did not confer with the other me...the more realistic, pragmatic, not so optimistic me. I am not going be able to get to it in the next couple of weeks before I leave on my vacation (yes, I will be taking a few weeks off to rest & relax) so I will try to post some things for sale on this here blog. I seem to have a lot of cups these days and some other things too (hint; tea bowls). I have to get photographs of everything and get it all in order first. So please hang in there.

large footed bowl 23"x 19"x 6"

As for the bowl above I gotta tell you I am pretty darn proud of this baby! It is large! Almost two feet long. Moving a slab of clay around that big is no easy task. Not to mention it came out almost perfect (if I do say so myself ) without any warping and no cracks.

I should also mention that all of the pieces that I have been posting for my upcoming show will be for sale starting February 23rd at the Xen Gallery.