Diana Leon Pottery Show was a great success!
Diana Leon Pottery Show was a great success!
On Saturday and Sunday, July 19th and 20th, the Friends of the Fort Bragg Library held an open house and exclusive showing of the exquisite artwork of Friends benefactor, Diana Leon. The show was a great success and yielded the Friends over $3000 to go toward the Library Expansion.
I admit I was a reluctant attendee. Here’s why…As a library worker, I knew Diana Leon only through her visits to the library and our conversations about books. Twelve years of book discussions formed a common bond, as we often recommended (and discouraged) titles for each other.
As a library patron, she was lovely, and when I heard of her passing, I was devastated at the loss of a fellow book enthusiast. While still grieving her loss, I learned Diana had donated, not just a portion, but her entire estate to the Friends of the Fort Bragg Library. I was stunned! I knew she loved the library, but I never knew how much!
In all those years she and I never talked beyond books. When she died, I knew nothing of her life outside of that. I didn’t know of all the varied interests she had, nor that she was a collector of things, such as antiques, old rock and roll posters, cat-themed trinkets, cookbooks, gardening, etc., etc., etc. I also didn’t know Diana was an extremely talented potter. So talented, she once owned her own ceramics gallery, The Griffin’s Egg, in San Francisco! Who knew?
When the Friends started going through Diana’s treasures I remained aloof. I missed her at the library, but I wasn’t interested in invading her life outside the library. It all felt too surreal for me. So, when the Friends invited me to attend a showing of all her beautiful pottery, I hesitated. I still didn’t want to get involved.
Then, on Sunday, July 20th, out of respect for all the work our wonderful Friends had put into getting the estate ready, I went. All I can say is WOW! What an amazing artist she was! At the showing, I learned of her history, not just as an artist, but her life before and after her San Francisco gallery existed. She was an amazing woman, and her pottery was gorgeous!
Now, I will miss her in other ways. I will still miss her depth of book knowledge, but I will also miss her creativity, kindness, and love of things. And I’m sad for all the missed opportunities to get to know her better.
Farewell, Diana Leon. You are so greatly missed.
Peggy McGee, Senior Library Technician
