repose

work in progress for my upcoming solo show

I have been hunkered down and in my own head these past weeks. With a heavy show schedule ahead of me this summer and autumn I have needed time to think, without distractions and feeling like I need to explain this process...but here I am explaining it.

In the fast paced world we live in our mental bellies have expanded beyond capacity and it seems that the amount of information out there that we consume is unending. Admittedly I am very much a willing participant in this feeding frenzy. Lately I have felt overwhelmed with it all. Gorged. Too much to talk about, too much to see, too much to know. I kind of started to feel like I was drowning and that it was hard to get oxygen to my brain so I could think my own thoughts. Our own thoughts, a key and vital element to any creative person's life.

The amount of vigilance it takes to keep myself in the mix as well as simultaneously be creative can get extremely draining. I sometimes fear I will wear my own batteries out if I don't take time to let the machinery rest. I say this here because I think this is happening to people a lot yet we continue to be pulled in even when it is too much. As much as a person such as myself depends on people seeing what I do and make and wanting to know about me there is a point in which that in itself can begin to take away from the actual thing that I am trying to achieve, which is to make art.

washed brushes

So I have spent some time daydreaming (so essential for me). I have spent time running errands. I have gone on field trips. I've started going on runs again. I have worked in my garden. I have cooked myself some lovely meals. And I have planned vacations and breaks so I can visit a different reality other than my own (also very necessary for me).

I try to keep a gentle balance in my life. I am very much a person who is motivated by opportunity and projects but when too much starts to happen I can also shut down. Keeping things at a manageable pace and not making decisions based in fear like, if I turn down that order I won't be able to pay my rent, but based on how exactly it is that I want to live and what I can realistically manage. It is what I try to do though not always successfully. It is just kind of a sticky note on my brain. It's edges are curled and there are fingerprints and stains all over it but it stays there all the time.


So here's to letting the machinery rest friends!
See you all next week.

in the news & other adventures

My new Zsuzsi vase (named after my mom) with flowers from my garden

It has been a week and half since I last posted. Some of the time I spent relaxing and the rest of it working and doing my best to catch up on stuff. One of which was answering questions from the lovely Stephanie Levy for her new Friday series feature on her blog, A Studio With A View. I am honored to be the second Artist featured in this fabulous new series which looks like it's going to be a hit.
You can see it here.

Thank you Stephanie!

Also if you aren't already familiar with Stephanie's fabulous illustration and collage work you should check it out. It's fantastic.

Canteen Vase in Australian Home Beautiful
June 2008

Plus this week store owner Olivier Dupon of Lola et Moi in Sydney, Australia who carries my work so kindly sent me an image of this lovely feature with one of my canteen vases from current issue of Australian Home Beautiful magazine.

Thank you Olivier.

Wilfredo has many talents, one of which is riding atop my cart.
He makes unloading hundreds of pounds of clay much more fun.

And last but defiantly not least, one of the many things I did this past week, was take care of my favorite dog, Wilfredo. He comes to stay with me whenever his famous mom has to leave town. He is the cutest, most loving, sweet, funny and just downright adorable creature. Everyone who meets Wilfredo instantly falls in love with him. And he is most definitely a babe magnet...I get lots of attention from the boys when I am out with him plus we have all sorts of fun adventures when he comes to stay with me. Wilfredo also writes letters and sends photos to his mom while she is away (it makes her feel better about missing her boy). For some fun weekend reading you can see them here.


See you all next week with some new announcements.

Sunny Weekend Wishes to You All.

T*H*A*N*K Y*O*U

new cylinder vases
now available here


Wow, I can't believe how many of you showed up for the fourth & clay sale this weekend!
Saturday we had non stop lines extending the length of the gallery and studios.
And boy, you cleared me out!

Thank you all for coming and a special thanks to Victoria, Ahn-Minh and Jan for putting the word about the sale and to Josie for hosting the fabulous event and including me . I was able to raise a nice sum of money (see photo of me in action here...who knows what I am saying!?) to help my sister because of all your support. All my seconds were gone by the end of the day on Saturday except for a few little stragglers.
It was an amazing weekend and it's always so much fun to see you all and to hang with my beloved pottery posse.

Now I am officially pooped.
I feel like I haven't stopped since last October and come to think of it, it's true, except for a small jaunt to L.A. in February I haven't taken more than a day off since then. It is starting to catch up to me... I have had a sore throat that keeps coming back but never quite becomes a cold (a sign of exhaustion). So I am taking today off and hopefully will do some more relaxing this weekend. I will be filling my shop all week with some new goodies (like the vases above) and some of my new small vases as well. If I owe you an email I am slowly trying to catch up but do need to check out for a bit so please hang in there, I haven't forgotten you.
Oh and I forgot to mention I did add some new canteen vases to my shop so if you have been eying one for yourself or a friend you can find a few here.

S*A*L*E

my new vaza collection
will be for sale this weekend at fourth & clay


Come on out to fourth & clay this weekend for some great deals (we are selling off our seconds) and if you want some firsts we have those too!

fourth and clay
2390 4th Street @ Channing
Berkeley, California

Saturday (10-6) & Sunday (12-5)
May 3rd & 4th


See you there!

an army of good deeds

new small vases
these will be available this weekend at the fourth & clay sale


Hello Friends, Hello Monday,

As you can all imagine it has been a very emotional week for my family and me. My sister is trying to hold up though the stress of losing everything. Having to decide on what to keep and what to throw away because she only has "so much" rented storage space has been an overwhelming experience for her. She is doing her best to keep her spirits up but it has not been easy.

The bright spot in all of this is that so many of you have been so supportive both with kind words of encouragement and also with financial donations. I can't tell you how much this means to us and how helpful it has been.

Thank you so very much!
XO

I am gathering my own little troops (as seen above) in order to help fight the good fight and sell as much as can so I can give a helping hand to my big sis and her family. These little guys will be available this upcoming weekend, May 3rd and 4th at the first annual fourth & clay seconds (and firsts) sale. Also all the money that I make from selling off my seconds will go directly to helping my sister and her family get back on their feet.

If you are in the neighborhood (the greater bay area neighborhood) please do stop on by!
There will be lots of great deals on seconds plus top notch firsts as well from fabulous Ceramic Artists, Rae Dunn, Josie Jurczenia, Whitney Smith and myself as well as handmade cosmetic bags from Susannah Schnick (they bring a little bit of naughty into nice) and Nancy La Rose will be selling her beautiful handmade re-purposed leather purses.

In addition to all the lovely things to buy there will be a "live mural production" happening on the outside of the fourth & clay building by Mel & friends.

We hope to see you there!

P.S. For those of you who can't make the sale I will be posting some of the small vases in my online shop as well. I will let you know as soon as they are in the shop and ready to go.

hello sunshine

a study in yellow
for sale here

They have arrived friends, my new small vases!

My new vase molds were delivered a couple of weeks ago and since then I have become a vase making obsessed fiend! I made this grouping of small vases inspired by my dear friend Lisa Congdon, her love of yellow and this photo she took of her golden hued goodies. Hard pressed to break up the happy family of vases (they really do belong together don't they!?) I am selling the whole shebang as one piece. The money made from the sale will be passed onto my beloved sister to help her and her family get back on track.

Putting a little sunshine into someones life....Now isn't that what yellow is all about?

Also I have a featured studio visit on Design*Sponge via Jan of Poppytalk. Hop on over and have a look, there is a little interview too! Thanks Jan & Grace!!

a little help from my friends

my sister & me
1969

Dear Friends,

Last night my big sister, Eva called me with very bad news...Her house caught fire and burned down yesterday afternoon. Luckily she managed to get out the house safely and my niece, Jenna was in school so no one was hurt but everything they owned was lost. She and her daughter are suddenly homeless and to top it off my sister is in between jobs.

I am doing everything possible that I can to help.

On May 3rd and 4th I will be participating of a spring sale at the lovely fourth & clay studios in Berkeley. Josie Jurczenia, Rae Dunn, Whitney Smith and myself will be selling off our seconds and also some firsts as well. Susannah Shcnick and Nancy La Rose (sorry Nancy does not have a website) will be selling their beautiful hand made bags.

I am going to give my sister the proceeds from all of the seconds that I sell at the sale to help her out and I also plan to sell some things online in an effort to raise some money for her but it will take a little time for me to make that happen. In the mean time she is in desperate need of
any assistance possible.

My sister is my hero. She has always been there for me in any time of need, safe guarded me throughout my childhood from all the potential hazards that youth presents and has continued to be there for me well into my adulthood. She is a brilliant, strong and capable single mother of two who has worked tirelessly to make certain her children have the best. I know she can pull herself up from this disaster but right now she really needs a helping hand. She will eventually need "things" to refurnish her life but at the present moment the basic necessities of food and shelter for herself and her daughter are her main concern. I have set up an account in her name where donations can me made directly to her to help her get back on her feet. Donations can be made via paypal at this email address evacarrender@yahoo.com.
Please state "fire relief" when making the donation.
If you would rather not send money via a paypal and would prefer to send a check
please send them to:

Eva Carrender

P.O. Box 3104

Santa Clara, CA 95055

Anything at all would be so greatly appreciated.

Thank you so,so much!

For those of you who would like to buy something from me to help out please come on out to
fourth & clay on May 3rd and 4th. I will have lots of seconds and discounted calendars for sale and also some new things never seen before!

I will keep you posted for my online sale to help raise funds for her so please check back.


XO
Diana

say cheese

two large platters, sixteen small plates and one cheese maker

Amidst the long hours I put in at my studio, the never ending lists of things that need to be done and the moments when I feel crushed by the responsibility of it all there are times when it all comes together in a perfect moment of harmony and I am reminded that I am in the exact place that I want to be.

One of the reasons why I do what I do and make what I make is not only because I have a deep fondness for objects of beauty but also because I enjoy the relationship aspect of making things that become part of peoples lives. There is no joy greater for me than hearing from people that somehow my work has touched them. It's awfully sentimental I know but hell I don't care, I am sentimental.

It can be something as simple as eating their yogurt out of one of my tea bowls in the morning. Or one of my favorite stories... A few years back a women came up to me at one of my sales and told me she had bought some of my small tea cups from me the previous year. She said that her husband had become quite attached to a specific one and at the end of the day he would go up on the roof and have his evening sip of whiskey from it. It was "his" cup and was not to be used for anything else. When I think of him using one of my cups for his own private ritual (and for whiskey, which I have a weakness for) I feel like a part of me is there with him in that quiet reflective moment.

So when David (see above photo) an Artisan cheese maker and owner of a fine cheese company in Southern Oregon called Rogue Creamery, telephoned me back in late January and asked me to make two large platters and sixteen small plates to use for his cheese service I was delighted. The thought of my work being part of something that was so precious to him and his partner and would be an integral part of people coming together immediately pushed the sentimental button in my heart.

David drove down from Southern Oregon to pick up his plates and platters this week. I set them all out for him to see before we packed them up in boxes. He walked around the table and looked at everything with a great attentiveness and sensitivity. We talked about the flowers and fruit images I used. Me naming them and him responding with things like "oh hazelnuts are so delicious with cheese." (I had drawn a hazelnut branch on one of the plates).

A part of me drove off with David back to Oregon and even though I won't be at his cheese parties in person when he and his guests are nibbling thin slices of Lavender Cheddar and salty pungent bits of his Crater Lake Blue off of my plates I know, along with the delectable cheeses and the warmth of the guests, that I will be part of the life of the party.

This is why I love what I do.

standing tall

pin vases

Last week while I was quietly working away in my studio I got a call from Luba at Mudfire Gallery. At first when she said she was calling about my work my heart sunk, the shipment I sent for the show had just arrived the day before and I thought she was calling to tell me that there were some damaged pieces. She quickly quelled my fears and said "No it is good news! All of your work has sold could you send us some more?" I stammered and stuttered something like, realllly...but the show hasn't even opened yet!? Then she said "yes, collectors and early birds often come by the gallery before the opening to scoop the new works." And scoop up they did, Holey Moley!! Needless to say I have been floating on a cloud. I have had many a show and have had some fabulous successes and some heartbreaking failures but never before has this happened to me.

If that wasn't enough the next day I got an email the from the ever talented Julia Galloway inviting me to participate in an amazing group show in October and there is other show news on the horizon but I can't talk about it just yet.

And that is not all friends!

Check this out...Juliet of The Broken Plate got her "paws" on one of my plates that had been brutalized by the postal service and made some new beauty from the destruction. They are just fantastic (if I do say so myself) and they are available for purchase here.

Oh and one more thing. I have been working on updating my Ceramic Blogs list. I've added many new people to it who are doing some wonderful things. I have been astounded with the explosion of folks out there now blogging exclusively about ceramics. When I started this blog just two years ago I could count on one hand the ceramic blogs that I could find
in the virtual world. It is so nice to have access to so much diversity and to hear about other peoples experiences as ceramists.

Have a look.