28 May 2009

Milestones


The other day I was having lunch with my good friends Annie and Eric at their wonderful studio. While we were eating Banh Mi and drinking champagne (it was Eric's birthday), Eric made a point to congratulate me making the cover of Ceramics Monthly and then told me this story;

When he was a young art student and needed a bit of inspiration, he would often go into the student office and look through the collection of magazines that the school provided. Amongst that pile of magazines there would always be an issue or two of Ceramics Monthly, they may have been really old, he said, but they would always be there. He would leaf through the magazines to get creative ideas and perhaps daydream about making something like the things he saw and entertain romantic notions of maybe, one day, seeing his work on the cover of one of those magazines. Eric looked at me and said; "Diana, isn't it so cool that you will inspire some unknown young aspiring artist out there who will find this issue with your work on the cover buried in the pile of magazines and be inspired to do the same?"

I looked at Eric and said, I was 'that' student twenty years ago.

I want to extend my deepest gratitude
to those of you who have inspired, encouraged and supported me on this journey. I truly could have not come this far without it.
There have been many moments when I wanted to throw in the towel and inevitably someone would say to me,
"you can't, you can't give up."

This is for you, all of you.

xo

44 comments:

Kathleen Stoltzfus said...

Congratulations on your cover and thanks for reminding me also to not give up.

amy h said...

Wow! What an accomplishment! Congratulations.

Keith said...

Congratulations! The cover looks wonderful.

And, Banh Mi sounds delicious!

tinku said...

Wonderfully put. Congrats on this amazing milestone!

Kristin L said...

Beautiful photograph, beautiful work, and a beautiful sentiment. Congratulations.

Candied Fabrics said...

Congrats on your achievement...and how lucky the aspiring artists who stumble on your work in years to come will be!

klineola said...

Right On!

lisa solomon said...

oh diana.... huge huge huge.
so so so proud of you.... will you sign a copy for me ? :D
xoxo

diana fayt said...

thank you everyone!

Lisa, I will sign seal and deliver it to you with my own two hands.
xo (hi love, how are you & fi?)
miss you.

Amy said...

I'm that person now--looking at the cover of Ceramics Monthly and being inspired by your work. Thank you!
Amy

Emily Murphy said...

Congratulations Diana! You deserve it! Your work is wonderful, you images are beautiful and your words seem to flow effortlessly.

Linda Starr said...

Congratulations, you are an inspiration and the cover of Ceramics Monthly is well deserved.

jenifer lake said...

so awesome lady!!! congrats again! xxx.

Anonymous said...
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belinda said...

wow, wow, wow!
congratulations Diana, and what a fantastic picture of your work.
you inspire me so much with your beautiful work, it has such integrity.

Jen Mecca said...

Congradulations! There where many people in this months CM that got some great press. I'm sure your very excited! Nice photo's!
Jen Mecca

Camilla said...

Congratulations- this is a huge and well deserved achievement. I'm going to see if I can find a copy of this issue over here in the UK (sometimes it turns up here!)

Mary Anne Davis said...

Kudos, Diana! So happy for you.

Anonymous said...

Congrats! Your work is so refreshing! It is so good to see it on the cover of CM, as of late there has been so much focus on grad students and residencies. It is wonderful to see a focus on artist/potters who make a living from their work.

Well deserved. You have been insrumental in changing the face of selling ceramics online!

Anonymous said...

got my CM yesterday and what a beautiful cover... enjoyed reading the piece about you too

comfies said...

so well-deserved....congratulations!

Amy said...

Your work is stunning! I'm rather new at this and inspired by your art and your blog post. Peace,
Amy Huacani

Barbara said...

Beautiful cover and article! Congratulations

Unknown said...

Oh my, congratulations... And thank you for sharing the conversation you had with your friend. I remember when I first encountered your work at the Candy Store on 16th, and I though to myself 'wow, this is such a neat way to approach the medium.' The gentle roughness and illustrative whimsy of your pottery has inspired my own fledgling endeavors for a couple years now, and I'm glad to see it being recognized by such a respected publication. Good work. ;)

amisha said...

so, so proud of you diana. congratulations!!! you are an inspiration!
xoxo

Caroline Hayward said...

You are a huge inspiration for me, Diana! I have loved your work for a while now and have been encouraged by your success to pursue ceramics as a career myself. Keep up the great work and the lovely blogging!

Sherman Hall said...

Diana, I'm glad you're getting such wonderful feedback. Here is a link so your readers can check out your feature:
http://www.ceramicartsdaily.org/ceramic-art-and-artists/diana-fayt-working-potter/
Please be patient if it's slow or "missing" as we are relaunching the entire site on a new platform (fingers crossed).--Sherman

Tania Julian said...

Congratulations! That's a big one! I'm looking forward to looking at your pieces at mudfire tomorrow! on with the inspiration :-)

Art Department Store said...

Thanks for leading the way. I hope you are coming to Atlanta for the Mudfire.

diane mead

Judi Tavill said...

You are so great... I love my DF bowl and keep i out and use it all tof the time... great for tomato,cuc,basil mozz salad...

AND I wore my SCHMATA today... the kerchief... love love...

Great cover.. I loved the whole issue!

Kate said...

You don't have to publish this but I just wanted you to know that you've inspired me, long before the cover of the latest CM came to my door. I've been a part-time, in between-time artist for years, and only after I got laid off from my job at a newspaper, have I been able (through the blessings of unemployment) to really pursue my pottery on a full time basis. I keep thinking I should be looking for a "real job" but then I have a day out in the sun, with the birds tweeting, my dog my feet, my arms and legs getting tan, and I think "WHYYYYYYYYY can't THIS be my real job?!" So I'm trying to make it my real job, so that it will really be my real job.

Anyway - everytime I see someone like you struggle and make it, I hear "I think I can, I think I can" in my own brain. So thank you for that!

I do have one question though. I do (some) line drawing like you do, and I want to know what do you use to get those lines so fine? The underglaze pencils seem to do it but coverage is difficult and I don't want a thick line.... pointy slip trail bottles seem like they'd be too thick. ???

Kate

artgirl said...

The cover is beautiful! Congratulations. Your work is always inspiring to me.

Kimberly said...

I'm in awe of your ceramics. I have taken a ceramics class and I just can't imagine becoming as good as you! I loved the bee on the vase - oh my -beautiful-

Linda O'Neill said...

Sure glad you didn't give up, Diana...your being one of my very favorite Ceramic Artists!

Congrats on the magazine cover. That rocks!

Brandee Ross said...

Thank you for the inspiration, and congratulations on the cover.

Clay Mama said...

Congrats on the cover, I was so excited when I saw your work on it! Thanks for the inspiration!

YoursTruli said...

I have admired your work for some time now! Congrats you really deserve this!!! the Honest Scrap award is waiting for you if you would like to participate :) http://yourstruli.blogspot.com/2009/07/honest-scrap-award.html

FetishGhost said...

Hey,you got your minute, it is very well deserved. But now you've dissappesred! Hope it's because of all of the exposure... Post soon!

Licks, Love, & Luck...
-Zygote-

Anonymous said...

It is probably more romantic to inspire the young but you have inspired this old lady to draw on my ceramic work. (((thx!)))

jobs in nz said...

Very well written article, it’s a life fulfilling feeling to know that you have inspired someone by your words or work or art. Thanks for posting a very inspiring story.

Unknown said...

Read the article today in college:)..your work is amazing!..and its one of my faaavourite magazines:)

Pancho said...

Congratulations on the cover. Beautiful pieces!

Anonymous said...

Hi
I have been looking for a new posting for ages - hope you are OK. Perhaps you have a new site?

MWM said...

I missed this way back in may.
a belated congratulations.
beautiful.