Barbara A. Diduk

German/American, (1951–2017)

Born in Germany in 1951, Diduk ventured to the United States to study anthropology at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where she received a BA degree in 1973. She then spent two years in England, where she earned a diploma from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design before returning to the US to pursue an MFA from the University of Minnesota. While there, she was under the guidance of renowned American potter Warren MacKenzie, who fostered her fascination with traditional and regional forms of utilitarian pottery. She turned this passion into an active international practice as well as a career as an educator, teaching at universities in Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Shortly before her death, she retired from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, having developed a highly regarded studio art program notable for its emphasis on technical precision and uninhibited exploration.