I’m originally from a small town in Southern Illinois but spent many years before moving to Fairview living in the heart of Chicago. After retiring from a long corporate career working with math and logistics, I decided to give the other side of my brain a little exercise and learned to do furniture upholstery. Furniture construction and fabric fascinate me, and I admit to having a bit of an obsession with upholstery fabric (ok, and maybe with old furniture, too…).

More recently, I’ve been trying my hand at various artistic pursuits, and it’s so much fun! It’s really inspiring to be around so many creative and talented artists and craftspeople. Re.Imagine is the perfect combination of those two interests for me. It’s also been incredibly energizing, albeit a little stressful, rehabbing an old building and setting up and running my own business for the first time.

Dana earned a BFA in graphic design at University of Georgia with post-graduate studies at Tyler School of Art in Pennsylvania, Art Students League in NY, School of Visual Arts in NY, and Pythagorian Art Institute, Samos, Greece.

Her career as Art Director for national book and magazine publishers spanned 35 years in New York City, San Francisco, and Asheville, NC. Presently she is a member of the Saints of Paint, a collective funding non-profits and artists based in Asheville, NC.

Her artwork has been shown at Greenville Museum of Art in SC, Upstairs Gallery in Tryon, NC, Semi-Public in Asheville, NC and is found in collections in the US and Europe. Her painting, Blue Ridges at Craggy, was selected to be part of an international exhibit in the US embassy in Pristina, Kosovo, 2019-2021. The exhibit is known as Art in the Embassies Program, US Department of State.

She freelances graphic design, creates art from her home studio, and works as an assistant at here at Re.Imagine.

I am a native North Carolinian and a resident of Asheville for 22 years. I am a fiber artist and maker of traditional and contemporary quilts, weavings, knitted items, and clothing. I am a former actor and director, musician, and educator. I now work remotely as an instructional designer for a software company in San Francisco. I don’t consider myself an artist, but more of a maker, creator, and craftsperson. You can see some of my work here at my craft portfolio.

I’ve been making art of different kinds for many years. As a child I took classes at the Carnegie Art Museum in Pittsburgh, and in high school when I was supposed to be taking typing class. These days I enjoy creating from paper and yarn and eggs (individually).

During a family vacation to Slovakia when I was young, I became fascinated by the intricately-decorated eggs (‘Pysanky’ in Ukraine and ‘Kraslice’ in Slovakia) that I saw at Slovak Heritage Festivals. Then in 2014 I had the great fortune to meet and take classes from the incredible egg artist, Andrea Kulish, here in Asheville. Since then I’ve been creating eggs with Andrea’s technique which is similar to batik. I share the eggs with family and friends. Sometimes they break or get chipped, especially when being investigated by small hands, and that is okay. I’m proud to carry on this tradition here at the studio.

Diane has been quilting for 30 years, beginning with traditional designs and techniques. She then branched out into a more contemporary style using original designs, hand-painted fabrics, and embellishments.

Her work has been shown in both national and international shows, winning multiple awards.