We’re looking forward to introducing you to Diane Delaney. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Diane, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: When was the last time you felt true joy?
I began to regret my quick, “sure, I can do that,” response to “can you make me a life-size Javalina with babies for my yard?” It was now month three, and the body still wasn’t done. I had made Javalinas before, but they were 7 inches. This one was to be life size. What had I gotten myself into? I had already received the initial payments and completed two baby Javalinas and the head and neck of the adult. However, that was when the problems began–the body! I was on design #2, after body #1 lost two legs in the first firing. I was in the midst of extending the belly on this one, when I realized it was just too heavy. After several sleepless nights I had an apophony. Make the body in two separate pieces–back and the legs and stomach separately. I returned to the studio with a hopeful attitude. This had to work. It was already month four and the delivery date was close. I first shaped the legs and set them in a base which was the size of the body. That slowly dried in a damp box while I shaped the back. Both forms had to fire separately due to their size. Then the engineering began. How to keep the heavy head on the body? I cut four holes at the end of the body to match the holes in the neck. After glaze firing, I fastened metal rods to the body and neck with nuts, washers, and Apoxy. For balance, I designed the adult with its head down, resting on the second base with the baby. The family was finally together and happily feeding!
I had done it. Achieved something very challenging and stressful. They look great and I am relieved, proud, and very happy.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
When I retire, I am going to do ceramics–that was my plan. My lifestyle of traveling the world and exploring natural habitats had prevented me from having a studio. I had enjoyed art through photography and oil painting, but my dream of shaping clay had to wait. Upon returning to the states I attended the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts and later worked on environmental and sustainability issues in Washington D.C. and Florida. In 2011, while traveling to Hawaii, my husband, Don Lesh, and I stopped in Phoenix to tour some retirement communities. In previous such visits in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and elsewhere, I would ask to see their art facilities. Invariably I would be shown one room with a table and chairs. So, we were shocked when visiting Friendship Village in Tempe. We were shown a 7,000 ft. facility with 6 studios–Fiber Arts, Painting, Jewelry, Weaving, Wood & Metal, and YES, Ceramics! We returned six months later and signed up. Though we moved in in 2012, we had contracts and a house to sell in Florida, which prevented our final move until 2016. I immediately enrolled in ceramic classes all over the valley, and studied with Jesse Armstrong at the Mesa Arts Center. In searching for subject inspiration I remembered the beauty and incredible diversity of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona. I had camped in Cave Creek Canyon in 1978 and needed to return. Over the next six years Don and I rented houses in the region for 2-3 months at a time. Cave Creek and the Chiricahua Mountains became my muse and still are.
What started out as a declaration in my 20’s has come true. At 80, ClayNature is my “Last Act,” and maybe I’ve saved the best for it. I love sculpting clay and pay it forward by teaching ceramic classes. My work resonates with all ages. I have shown in galleries, been juried into expositions and events, built a website, and post on social media. I have joined several associations and have support from friends at the village. I am in the studio about 5 hours every day, which keeps me out of trouble. What more could I ask for?
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
I met Don Lesh at an Audubon Conference in Estes Park Colorado in 1983. He was the keynote speaker on Global Environmental Issues. Everything he said resonated with me. Upon returning to the states, I initiated a “Chapter Ties” program between Audubon Chapters in the states and Non-governmental groups (NGO) and leaders in South America. My workshop was on the program between the Portland Zoo and a Peruvian non-governmental group. I led tours to initiate the cooperation and some proceeds were given to the Peruvian NGO. Don attended my workshop and we just struck it off. We have worked and been together, until his passing in 2021. Don gave me confidence. He had been a Fulbright Scholar, Foreign Service Officer with posts in Moscow and London, served with Henry Kissinger in the State Department, written and edited books as Director of Potamic Associates (including Limits to Growth), directed Global Tomorrow Coalition in D.C. (the largest coalition of environmental, resource, and development groups in the U.S.) and later, Applied Sustainability Enterprises in Florida. And, he believed in me.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I was born in Florida in 1945, which meant one thing for sure — Tanning! Hours laying on a beach blanket. Years laying on a beach blanket. And, I had a great tan. I was a human rotisserie–rotating my body every 30 minutes. First my back, then side, stomach, side, and back to back. My mother called one day to say that she had found the perfect tanning lotion–LARD. My tan color increased until I was mistaken for an African American. What a great tan. Until later in life, when it wasn’t. Blotches appeared on my face and hands. Visits increased to dermatologists. And yet, old habits die hard. I still look at my legs and think they are too white.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Nature. I love the quote from John Muir, “In every walk in Nature, one receives far more than he seeks. For going out….is really going in.” Unfortunately Climate Change is threatening everything I hold most dear–species and habitat. I get depressed, but have to remain hopeful that people will meet this challenge. We must,
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When do you feel most at peace?
When I am out in nature. No one around. No sounds other than insects buzzing and birds singing. The leaves are rustling as the light peeks through. Peace.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dianedelaneyclaynature.com
- Instagram: dianedelaneyclaynature
- Linkedin: dianedelaneyclaynature
- Facebook: dianedelaneyclaynature
- Other: Pinterest – dianedelaneyclaynature
Image Credits
Diane Delaney
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