This year is the 13th in which I have chronicled Cybis porcelains and the studio that produced them; this month is also the 9th anniversary of the Cybis Archive, and you are reading the 300th new post uploaded to the site! The 100th post was my tribute to Marylin Chorlton, and the 200th provided a peek into life at the Cybis studio.
I began writing about Cybis in earnest in March 2012 within a dedicated section of my personal blog site, ‘The Chatsworth Lady’. After writing almost 90 posts during the next four years, I decided to spin off all of the Cybis content into its own site in late September 2016 and named it The Cybis Archive. This is why the first 80-something Archive posts all have publication dates within the same September-October 2016 period, often with multiple posts uploaded per per day.
In addition to the thrill of the hunt – for information and images, rather than for actual sculptures (see About the Archive for an explanation of that) – I have had the great good fortune to get to know some truly wonderful people, albeit only digitally, and many of them have become friends.
In fact, I’d like to give a shout-out here to (in alphabetical order) Carey B., David B., David F., Jerry H., Michał S., and Stephen B. You all know who you are. ;-) A special one, and a huge digital hug even though she has no computer, to Lynn Klockner Brown who is an incredible friend, artist, and a shining example that I know I’ll never manage to successfully emulate; and to William Pae for his everlasting patience and fount of knowledge. And an extra-special one to Don who knows far more about 1950s Cybis than I ever have or will, and somehow manages to not only tolerate but to share my quirky sense of humor. We two are living proof that people can have opposite views on certain subjects but can also become and remain the best of friends even though we’ve never met in person. (The fact that we also share a passion for gardening and for really good chocolate-cream pie may have a little something to do with it as well!)
I have watched my original concept, which was to create the most comprehensive and easily-accessible collection of accurate information about Cybis and the Cybis studio, become the largest source of that information ever compiled either in print or online. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m proud of my ‘digital baby’ and am hugely gratified each time I hear from people who have found it useful. It is a pleasure to assist those who contact me to ask for information or advice, and I’ve always sought to make the site as user-friendly as it can possibly be. Several of the unusual or OOAK pieces that were never shown in any official Cybis literature appear here through the generosity of Archive readers who contacted me in order to share a photo or information. Having this website has been like a 24/7/365 treasure hunt in many ways, with surprising gems popping up when or where they were least expected. My readers were incredibly patient when, due to a perfect storm of medical issues in 2023, I could not add to or update the Archive for almost six months; and I thank you all again for your well-wishes during that time.
The Future of the Cybis Archive
That said, I do have some news to share about the future of the Cybis Archive. I’ve reluctantly accepted the fact that, physically, I simply can no longer do many of the things that were do-able before. I’m well into the so-called ‘golden years’ (a silly phrase, considering that I have far less ‘gold’ these days than I ever did when younger) and nowadays when my body says “stop doing that!”, I know that I ignore it at my peril. As they say: Getting old ain’t for sissies.
In January of this year, I was approached by the Museum of American Porcelain Art (MAPA) with their concerns about what would happen to the Archive if something should happen to me. Given the size of the site and that much of the information here is available nowhere else, it’s a valid point to ponder. They offered to take over the ownership of the site, with myself to remain as the site administrator. I said that I would think about it and, over the next few months, did so in great detail and came to several conclusions.
Given that a major part of my physical discomfort is very much caused and aggravated by sitting, and that I also must use a large desktop monitor and a keyboard instead of a mobile device, I now need to carefully prioritize and control the time that I spend at a desk. Realistically, I need to either commit most of my computer time to the Archive, or none at all. This site is a time sink, no doubt about it. And, frankly, there are other things that I need and/or want to do but have been either putting aside (guiltily) or trying to also accomplish (painfully.) That’s not a good situation, either emotionally or physically.
The end result was that in May, I told the MAPA that I am willing to transfer ownership of the Cybis Archive site to them but that it would need to be a complete transfer: I would step away from it entirely and would not be the site’s administrator. They would own the site, which is hosted on WordPress.com, and would appoint their own administrator. They could, of course, choose to leave the site in its current form as of the day of the transfer as a permanent but static reference source, with no new content to be added.
The alternative would be that I myself would ‘freeze’ the site (like Han Solo in carbonite) at this nine-year mark; it would remain online, but with no new content added, until the term of the current paid-up hosting plan expires in October 2027…at which point the Cybis Archive would simply disappear. The Museum of American Porcelain Art decided to become the new owner of the site, and the transfer will take place on October 1st….thirty days from today.
It will then be up to MAPA to decide what parts of the site they want to keep. For example, the Recent Sales Page is something that needs constant monitoring and regular updating; if there is nobody at MAPA who wants to take on that task (which is perfectly understandable!), they may choose to freeze it as of 9/30/25 or to remove it entirely. Posts or pages (if any) that are uploaded after 9/30/25 will be created by the museum rather than by me, and any editing to existing posts and pages after that date will be done by the museum. Any messages sent via the Contact Form after 9/30/25 will automatically go to the Museum rather than to me.
This decision will ensure that the continuing existence of the Cybis Archive will no longer depend upon the existence of only one person.
I’m sure that MAPA will be an excellent steward of The Cybis Reference Archive going forward, because I’ve worked remotely with the curator, Carey Barone, for almost seven years and it has been a delight and a privilege. Of course I will continue to be available to them for questions and projects whenever needed or wanted. The Museum is a fantastic porcelain-resource and if you ever have the chance to visit it in person, you definitely should do so. They have a massive collection of Boehm and Cybis, as well as examples from three other ‘lost’ USA studios: Bronn, Burgues, and Ispanky.
It feels very strange to be writing this after so many years writing about Cybis but, as the saying goes: “It’s time.” This is my final post for the Archive because I would like it to remain at the top until the site transfer occurs. Messages sent via the Contact Form page will still reach me until the end of the day on 9/30/25; if you would like to stay in touch and do not already have the email address that I have used for all Cybis correspondence, just send me a Contact Form message before October 1st and I’ll reply by email. I do intend to keep that email address for the foreseeable future, because it is provided by my ISP rather than by this site’s hosting platform.
It has been a wonderful ride. :-)
With warmest regards,
Elaine
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Name Index of Cybis Sculptures
Visual Index (for human figures/busts only)
About the Cybis Reference Archive
What is Cybis?
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The Cybis Archive provides the most comprehensive range of information about Cybis within a single source. It is not and never has been part of the Cybis Porcelain studio, which is no longer in business.
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