I was about to go to bed but then realized I really wanted to share the excitement and dedication Pratt Institute has for Eva Zeisel.  I posted last night that I intended to go - now I have the pictures and some stories to tell. First, the photos. I could not get a good shot of Eva Zeisel, this shot off the video that was playing at the opening was the best, so here it is.  Yes, she's 100 years old on November 13th.  She looked pretty good, skin tone and movement were OK, she was fully alert - she could kinda get around - what more can you ask for at 100?

Here's some photos of Eva Zeisel's ceramics and kitchen utensils.  BTW, Eva Zeisel has a website where you can order originals of her designs and there's a discount of 10% on orders due to her 100th birthday.

     

Here is a ceramic design that appeared in the 1940's and the advertisement of the same design that appeared at that time. Here's Thumbnails of some more shows linked to the originals.

          

I understand the teapot is Eva Zeisel's first and only design of this type and it's selling at Bloomingdales for 80 bucks; a woman who described herself as the owner of the business that created the teapots told me this as she admired the pot. With the show at Pratt Manhattan there was also a book signing - I should have bought a copy and got it signed, did not end up doing that.  Oh well. I also ran into old friends, Russel Nelson and his his girlfriend Margaret Casagrande, who I've known for a while - also a couple of other people who Russel and Margaret know but I had not met before.  I looked at Russel's paintings online, and I never really knew he painted.  I can't tell that much from the photos that he put up, but the point is, you don't get an idea from Russel that he painted seriously - he's modest, some people are like that.  I did not run into an old friend and Pratt Instructor, Linda Lauro, at this opening, though I thought I might.  One thing that has happened with this show and marketing message - by associating Eva Zeisel with age (turning 100) as strongly or more strongly than her work - the idea of her work being more important than her age is muddled in the message (at least for me).  I'll end this evening, exhausted, with one more thought.  Except for meeting Russel and Margaret, I did not know anyone at this Pratt Opening; yet I felt like I should know them and would fit right in.   Does that mean this is the crowd I belong in?   I'm not sure what it means.  I could have sworn that half the people I saw actually looked familar - like I had seen them somewhere before - except I had not seem them before.   And now it's time to sign off.