Daily Inspiration: Meet Diane Delaney

Today we’d like to introduce you to Diane Delaney.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
Transforming clay into unique hand-built sculptures is my passion. Influenced by nature and the cultures I’ve met, each piece is shaped using the coil, pinch, and slab method. Originally from Florida, I grew up in an artistic household, encouraged by my mother—a watercolor, acrylic, and ceramic artist. However, my route to creating my own “Art” was somewhat circuitous. I’ve had various careers in the education, tourism, and sustainable development fields for for-profit and non-profit organizations and directed our consulting firm. However, travel has been my touchstone. I lived in Iran and Venezuela for over a decade while visiting countries worldwide. Along the way, I’ve had some fantastic adventures, from riding my Arab Stallion in the desert, being among the first travelers to enter Nepal, climbing Roraima Tepui, exploring the Galapagos Islands and Amazon Basin, scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, and taking a one-year jeep safari throughout South America. During this time, I enriched my life with art, primarily photography and oil painting. While living in Portland, I furthered my artistic pursuits at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts. But it was our move to Arizona that uncovered my love of clay. Through months spent annually in the Chiricahua Mountains of Southeastern Arizona and years of ceramic classes at the Mesa Arts Center, I create unique nature-inspired sculptures for the garden, patio, or home.

It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The art world is full of youth, making it challenging to enter it as a senior citizen. I am restricted in how I sell my work. I don’t show up at weekend fairs or markets as transporting my work and setting up tents is beyond my capacity. So, I sell through my website, at the Friendship Village Christmas Sale in November, and through galleries, including the Feminine Mystique Gallery in Tubac, the Chiricahua Gallery in Rodeo, New Mexico, and the Patagonia Trading Post in Patagonia. I also teach ceramic classes and workshops at the Art Studios in Friendship Village. I spend most afternoons in the studio and enjoy the challenge of realizing new creations. For example, I inlayed turquoise into a sculpture of a Montezuma Quail on a rock. This week, I completed my first coral garden wall hangings with shells, an octopus, clownfish, and soft sponges. Though most people retire at 75, I started a new business — ClayNature. Though there are more challenges with age, my desire to create keeps my imagination and me going.

Thanks for sharing that. Please tell us more about your work.
A Green Heron hunts in the reeds of a backwater stream while a harlequin-patterned Montezuma Quail stands watch on a rock. This is my ClayNature world of Totems, Sculptures, and Bouquets that I am creating in our Valley of the Sun studio.

• Totems: I use cones 5-6 of white sandstone clay and hand-build each element (frog, rabbit, cactus, bird, etc.) with two holes to thread onto an ¾ inch metal rod. Thus, each piece is stacked onto the next to complete the totem. Major elements take 7-10 hours to shape, underglaze (which I mix myself), sand, and apply final glazes. Following glaze firing, the underside of the base is coated with a sealant. Each totem takes 2-4 months to complete and ranges in size from 3-5 feet. They can be free-standing on the patio, at home, or in the garden. Totems add color and joy to their surroundings. They are very easy to clean. Spray with water to remove dirt, and wash with soap and baking soda.
• Bouquets: Bright flowers share space in my vases with fanciful spires and twisted straws inspired by Dale Chihuly’s outdoor glass installations.
• Coral Gardens: These lively sculptures reflect many of the beautiful Coral Reefs I have visited. Under peril now from Climate Change, I hope each piece conveys its critical role in the sea. Displayed on a table or wall, they are 10 inches wide, 4 inches tall, and weigh just over 4 lbs.
• Pinch Pot Critters: Bring the Arizona Desert into your home with these adorable critters. Ready to hang on the wall, each is hand-built and colored with underglazes and glazes. Measuring about 7 inches long and weighing under 8 ounces, the backs are enclosed with a keyhole for hanging.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
In this case, it is a facility. I was listening to NPR on the radio when Fresh Air came on to cover Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The guest speaker, a resident of a CCRC in North Carolina, was so convincing that I researched them once at home. Positives:

1. You are cared for through all stages of life–independent, assisted, memory care, health care/hospital.
2. You are in life care for your entire life, even if, through no fault of your own, your income eventually drops below monthly costs.
3. Your home, maintenance, meals, transportation, and activities are all covered.
4. You are guaranteed a safe, clean, and attractive environment.

My husband and I decided to sell our home in Florida and downsize into an apartment at a CCRC. We visited many facilities, but they all fell short in one category–ART. Most facilities had just one room with a bunch of tables. That is until we stopped in Phoenix on our way to Hawaii. We found our forever home at the third facility we visited that day. Friendship Village Tempe is the only CCRC we found with 6 professional art studios — Woodworking/Metal, Fiber Arts, and Jewelry. Painting, Weaving, and Ceramics — inside a 17,000 sq. ft. recreational center and, this year, our studios are getting a 2 million dollar face-lift. Like me, hundreds of residents have come to the Village because of the focus on Art. We have formed The Makers Coalition, held quarterly meetings, and have a speaker series with Mesa Community College. We have also hosted events and encouraged each other. Overall, it is the best decision I have made.

Contact Info:

• Website: dianedelaneyclaynature.com
• Instagram: dianedelaneyclaynature
• Facebook: Diane Delaney Claynature
• Other: Pinterest – dianedelaneyclaynature