Saturday, December 31, 2011

So long Eva

Even though Eva Zeisel lived such a long and productive life right up to her passing yesterday at 105 years, it goes without saying that the ceramic and design world has lost a dear and treasured soul.  For someone with such a remarkable story: studying in Weimar Germany in the age of the Bauhaus Movement; developing from a studio potter to a ceramic designer for manufacturers all over Europe; surviving imprisonment in Communist Russia for being accused of conspiring to assassinate Stalin; fleeing Nazi Germany for the US, starting life in New York with a family, all the while designing ceramics, furniture and glassware for the modern American home in a sea of male designers, is truly an amazing legacy for one woman to have.  Imagine if we all had the tenacity to overcome these kinds of obstacles in life and to stick to our passions with such determination and grace right up to the very end of our lives.  Imagine if we all felt that kind of passion for what we do in our life that it would occupy our time right to the end. 

3 comments:

Anne Magee said...

Watching a segment about her on CBS Sunday Morning right now....

dahlhaus said...

She really was a remarkable person- I would love to see a documentary or film about her life some day!

Anonymous said...

I didn't realize that Eva Zeisel had died. I only recently discovered her ceramics. There is a store in Seattle with a huge collection of her pieces. Beautiful! (and expensive!)