Having been an occasional crafter (crochet, sewing and cross stitch) growing up and through high school, my love of working with color really began when a friend taught me some basic "tole" or decorative painting. After John & I moved from New Orleans to Hampton, VA in 1994, I started taking classes in acrylic decorative painting and mostly enjoyed painting functional art pieces - jewelry boxes, small furniture etc.
One day in late 2005 I wandered into a local bead store "Beadworkz". I loved all the colorful glass and stones and felt like a kid in a candy store. Out of curiosity, I signed up for a basic beading class and was hooked from the beginning. The instant gratification of working with color and creating wearable art in such a short amount of time was so appealing - no more sanding, sealing and prep work that was required for painting!
About a year later I quit my full time job to take classes and learn as much as I could about making beaded jewelry. Soon after that, I began teaching beading classes myself!
Though I am once again working full time, I still teach at a couple of the local bead stores (check out my Class Schedule) and I sell my jewelry at Plantiques, a quaint shop in the Hilton Village area of Newport News. Check out the Jewels by Dianne page and you can see some of my jewelry that is currently available for sale! If you see something you like simply send me a message via "Contact Us"!
