Diane Anderson

Making something from “nothing” absolutely fascinates me. Transforming ideas into tangible objects, brain waves into artworks to be had and held, swirly thoughts into physical statements to be worn right on the body – that’s the motivation behind my creativity. These sparks of transformation sometimes come directly from the material – a rock, a feather, a bone - and are manifested in clay or shiny metal, colored by stones or powdered glass enamels.

Beginning in 1993 as a jeweler with a basic bead stringing class, I soon wanted more control over my materials. I dove headlong into lampworking glass beads, sculpting from polymer and metal clay, and incorporating found objects. It wasn’t until I experimented with copper that I found my voice. Copper enameling and electroforming feed my love of science and nature by their very methods. From melting glass enamels in the intense heat of the kiln, sometimes as high as 1400 degrees Fahrenheit, to the chemistry and voltage behind the electroforming rig, the processes are as fascinating as their results.

My parents lovingly fostered my curiosity about nature by identifying local animals, helping me collect rocks, taking me on wild trips through underground caverns.  The curiosity that they instilled in me has only expanded in each moment, leaving more questions than answers.  The mathematics of spirals…  The language of repeating shapes…  The biology of animal forms…  I’ll never figure it out.  I’ll never stop trying.