Jan 28, 2019
My guest today is Diane Churchill. Diane is a gifted artist,
painter, art teacher and community activist. In addition to her
formal education studying Art History at Wellesley College and
Studio Art at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, Diane describes her
transformative informal education at the “University of the
Streets” working in NYC’s Lower East Side back in the late 60’s. It
was a time of creativity, opportunity, vitality, diversity, tragedy
and loss. Without clear direction or guidance, Diane took the time
to build meaningful relationships, as she developed some very
exciting projects, that blended art, storytelling, writing and
grassroots community activism.
Diane is grateful for the sisterhood she found in the feminist art
movement, which gave expression to women’s lives and experiences,
helping to foster confidence in Diane at a time when everyone else
in her world discouraged her from being an artist. Diane taught art
in the streets, in public schools, private schools, and recently
was an artist-in-resident at the Gowry Art Institute in India. Her
rich, vibrant abstract paintings, shown in countless solo and group
exhibitions throughout the NY region, reflect her intimate
conversations with the canvas, with nature, the elements, color,
her inner world and with life itself! She says that painting is
central to everything; it has its own life and has changed over the
years. She also explains that color is its own subject, color is a
force that creates vibrations and possibilities. She has focused on
different themes throughout her decades of painting, and now
Diane’s current theme s exploring the unknown, the unseen. Her
humility, curiosity and ability to be a conduit of creativity and
joy, deeply inspires me.
Check out Diane’s website
and a current exhibit at the Blue Hill Art and
Cultural Center
in Pearl River, NY through April 5th, 2019.
Enjoy the podcast!
Links:
www.dianechurchill.com