Functional art. Everyday use with artistic beauty describes the pottery of retired art teacher Diane
Miyauchi. A love of form, color and structure are found in all of Diane’s pieces. She also incorporates
the shine and dimensional depth of Raku in her work.
In addition to the functional, Diane also creates the artistic whose sole purpose is to create beauty
and joy in the eye of the beholder. Small sculpture and wall art fall into this category.
Diane says that she “thinks it’s fun to make things people use. It’s gratifying to hear from people who
tell me that they love my thumb bowl and use it every day. But I think it would be fun to make
sculptures with a sense of humor or an element of surprise.”
Diane’s creations include everyday useful items like bowls, plates, platters, mugs, strainers and
serving dishes. She is well known for her vibrant blue/green and red colors. She also makes other
useful items like yarn bowls for knitters, and some purely eye-catching sculptural pieces and art
pieces to adorn walls.
Diane’s art is a mixture of styles, that while at first glance, dissimilar, all work well together as a
collection. Diane explains, “(My style is) simple and clean with a glaze that is spontaneous and never
the same. Yet somehow everything matches and works together.
Diane loves art, especially pottery, because it is fun. And she’s been at it a long time. She earned a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design. Then she earned a Master of Education with a specialization in Art
Education, which she put to good use teaching in Alaska. She retired to Bend, Oregon and has been
active in local pottery venues for many years.