biography
Dianna grew up on a small farm in western Washington state. A child of the depression, she created enjoyment from the ordinary and cast-off objects at hand. The instinctive inclinations of those days sparked a process that has continued to grow throughout a life of wonder, expression, and education. She searched for answers to many questions and found some in art, nursing, and anthropology, with
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art being the primary thread connecting such disparate sources of knowledge. Her current professional life is entirely devoted to art.
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Guided primarily by intuition, she creates abstractions through a selection of media: oil, acrylic, or encaustic. The results have been rewarded with accolades and prizes regionally, nationally and internationally and have been described as lyrical, organic, and fluid. Her philosophy is that art is magical for the viewer and for artist. It should speak to our capacity to wonder, to dream, and to delight in the mystery of its personal message.
It all began in a high school art class with a linoleum block print from her abstract design. It captured the attention of the teacher and she was encouraged to enter it in shows. That was the beginning of a long and diverse career. This was the peak of the Abstract Expressionist Movement, and her abstract art was there but unknown to her at the time.
However, it earned her art scholarships to college, later supplemented by art courses and studio production wherever she was, from California to Texas, to Germany, England, and Spain. Since 1973 New Mexico has been home, where she has found equally superb and diverse art development.
Dianna retired as a professor emeritus from the University of New Mexico in 2000. Currently, she shows at the Shomaker Studio & Gallery in Placitas and at a variety of art competitions. Her work also hangs in the Encaustic Art Museum in Santa Fe and in private collections in the U.S. and abroad.