Ceramic Art Pieces by Diana Fayt

Diana Fayt took her first pottery class in the eighth grade. "Not because I was interested in pottery but because a boy I had a crush on was taking the class. I remember making a clay hippopotamus in that class but I don’t remember what happened with the boy." Today she is buried in pottery. Between her business, giving lectures, and attending shows, it's safe to say that Diana is fully dedicated to her craft. And, she still maintains her sense of humour. In one blog posting, she confesses "I do wish I could tell you that a torrid love affair has kept me away but alas I have been doing a little traveling and working, working and um, working."

Diana's parents, who are Hungarian, are resourceful people from an old world. Diana observed her mother make clothes from whole cloth and helped in hand cranking pork sausages in their garage. Her father, an intensely quiet person, was a tool and die man of great precision who later went on to make jewelry. Diana's work is hand built and she uses molds that she also makes herself. "All of my ceramics are made with lead free materials and are food safe."

"The process I have developed and use is quite labor intensive which includes approximately thirteen steps from beginning to end. Some pieces (like the platters and large bowls) can take up to seven hours to complete which does not include the twenty three hours of firing time in the kiln. All of the drawings are my own freehand illustrations and the images of the birds, whales and other silhouetted imagery are all also my own original drawings. I use many different tools, including old hand forged nails and found objects to etch my lines into the clay so as to achieve unique markings of interest to my pieces. Some of my pieces may seem irregular in shape. This is intentional. I want evidence of the handmade to remain an integral part of my work." Visit her website to see additional works HERE. And, her blog HERE. And, Etsy site HERE. ~ Text used from her various sites with permission from Diana Fayt.

Images used with permission from Diana Fayt.

Ceramic and Clay Sculptures by Yun Hui Kelsey

Enlightenment © Yun Hui Kelsey

Stay at home mom, Yun Hui Kelsey, lives and breathes for art, and dreams about it in her spare time. Who can blame her? I think anyone who creates will agree that creating is one of the most satisfying acts there is. Yun is originally from Malaysia, but came to the United States in 1999 to pursue her college education. She currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her family. Though she considers herself a "jack of all trades" it is working with clay that she loves the most.

I Want To Fly © Yun Hui Kelsey

"I can express myself freely with clay. It's such a wonderful, versatile medium. I love to sculpt human faces and figures. Sometimes my works are about the strength of the human spirit. Works such as I Want to Fly is about human desire, the wish to rise up above any situation. And, some of my works have Buddhist influence in them (such as Enlightenment)." Freedom, and freedom of expression is extremely important to Yun. "I used to live life as how others told me to (specifically, my family). I think it is very typical for my culture (I'm Chinese by the way) to put a lot of pressure on kids to make sure that their lives follow a certain pattern. We were not encouraged to express ourselves, to be our own person. "

Unbreakable © Yun Hui Kelsey

If raising her two year old daughter doesn't keep her busy enough, Yun also explores other forms of art in her free time. Her blog is a journal of the different mediums she has tried and continues to explore. And, she is honest and humble in her postings. She describes one of her creations, "In terms of technique, this sculpture isn't all that sophisticated. I'm proud of the fact that I incorporated different materials in the sculpture, which is something that I haven't done a lot. But I do feel that I'm still lacking in the technique and skill department. And as always, I'm obsessed with finding a way of expression that is all mine." Though her goal is to turn her art into a career, her daughter is her main priority. They paint together (one of them makes more of a mess than the other), while Yun plays children's songs, or a couple of her favorites, Gypsy Rover or Danny Boy, on her harmonica. Yun's focus is to keep creating and improving hers skills. Visit her blog HERE. And, see her tutorial on sculpted fridge magnets HERE.

Images of Yun Hui Kelsey's artwork posted with consent.