DiANNE LOVE

'amazing, inspiring
life so full
enter her dreams
moon after moon'

DiAnne Love smiles and remembers her cigar box full of cool stuff—little found trinkets that brought solitary joy to the eyes and heart of a child.  As a child, she was “always making art.”  Growing up in a family of artists and musicians, DiAnne's sunny Oakland home was so filled with beauty, joy and creativity, she thought this was the way of everyone’s life.

Blame it on her parents, especially her mother.  Practical-minded with a clever eye for putting things together, she never threw anything away.  Egg cartons, cans, bottles, jars, cardboard, paper—any mundane household item had aesthetic potential beyond its functionality.  It’s called “use what you have.”  Add to that sewing, paper mache, crocheting, water colors, and sand painting, and the breadth of her mother’s handicrafts stretched throughout the walls of their home and, even farther, beyond one’s imagination. 

DiAnne tells a story about the many friends who wanted to purchase her mother’s art.  Though honored that her art was so desirable, her mother felt she could never be fairly compensated for her time and effort.  Clearly, this indicates that she truly valued herself as an artist.  Because she quietly recognized that the prices being offered were a bit “insulting,” she chose not to sell her work.  Instead she generously gave her creations away as gifts or donations.  She never dreamed that art such as hers would someday be labeled “mixed media”, “recycled” or “found,” and be sold for very hefty prices in fancy galleries.

DiAnne’s father, though a hard-working Southern Pacific Railroad man, always supported the arts.  He took pride in his wife’s keen knack for creating beautiful things without diminishing the family budget.  His brother, a local jazz musician back in the day, played with the likes of Lionel Hampton and other local and world-renown bands.  Because he lived with DiAnne’s family, when not traveling, the Lowe family home was transformed into a sanctuary rippling with the sounds of soulful solo and ensemble jazz rifts.  “We were never rich but never culturally-deprived,” says DiAnne as she fondly reflects upon her childhood.  Her family regularly attended live music performances and plays, and made trips to galleries and museums. 

As a youth, DiAnne recalls being “studious and quiet.”  Though her father recognized art as a source of joy for his family, his vision for DiAnne was a traditional life of marriage and typing.   Her mother envisioned her only daughter going to college and pursuing a medical career.  Though she fulfilled some of their wishes, by marrying and having a child, she found herself stuck in a miserable job that paid the bills, but depleted her spirit. 

Returning to art--her true love--DiAnne began volunteering at Bay Area galleries and museums.  Being a woman of color, for DiAnne, every perceived barrier was merely made of invisible glass.  Blessed with strong determination, intelligence and a friendly personality, DiAnne never let anything block her path.  If one door closed, there was always another.  She accumulated experience in for-profit galleries, working at the Constance Chang Gallery in Union Square, San Francisco, as its Assistant Manger.  There she engaged in conversation with a classy clientele of artists and art collectors, and learned the secret to “pushing sales.”  Moving on, DiAnne was offered a position as Gallery Manager at Art Beat in San Francisco, a non-profit gallery.  Located in the heart of the Mission on Valencia and 20th, prior to gentrification, this gig re-ignited DiAnne’s passion for community.  There she organized poetry readings, martini nights, and wine and cheese opening receptions for both emerging and well-known local artists. 

DiAnne had also enrolled at San Francisco State where she took courses in Egyptology and Hieroglyphs and earned a BA in Museum Studies.  She had also become interested in learning to speak Japanese.  Her interest in jewelry design and fashion--her favorite designer being Issey Miyake--prompted her to apply for a summer artist internship in Japan.  She was accepted; however, without regret, she had to forgo the opportunity.  Instead she took care of her mother who had become ill, and would be having major surgery that same summer.

Meanwhile, while working as a volunteer at the Oakland Museum, DiAnne was offered an internship position at the Laney College Art Gallery.  There she moved her way up from intern to Gallery Manager, to Curator and, finally, Director.  Since she was now a member of the Laney College community, her practical curiosity led her to Laney's Construction Management Department.  With hard work and commitment, she earned a second BA and an MA in Construction and Project Management.  Knowing that all museums and galleries need to build elaborate, innovative displays, she decided to do post-grad work at U.C. Berkeley where she received a Certificate and a second MA in Exhibition Design.   

Today, DiAnne is the Department Chair of Construction Management at Laney College and teaches a course entitled “Computer Applications in Contracting-Scheduling.”

To add more to her plate, DiAnne also works for the City of Oakland Cultural Arts and Marketing Division.  Here she’s able to fulfill her love of working with artists.  She coordinates the Oakland Artisan Marketplace, the Crafts and Cultural Arts Gallery, and the Art and Soul vendor applications.  The most enjoyable aspect of her job is having a familiar and friendly presence at the Oakland Artisan Marketplace where she’s the artists’ number one supporter and most enthusiastic shopper! 

Recently, during the East Bay Open Studios, I had the pleasure of meeting DiAnne Love as D Love, the artist!  For the past four years, D Love has been a resident artist at the Studios of her long-time friend and sister artist, Benny Alba.  Located in Oakland on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Benny Alba has remarkably converted an old factory and warehouse into a spacious gallery with studio spaces for herself and four other women artists. 

D’s space is located in a tiny loft at the top of a long flight of wooden stairs.  At the top of the stairs, draped over the banister, is a purple, stuffed dragon who greets me with a charming smile.  “Rub the dragon for good luck,” D tells me as she stands up to eagerly show me around.  Turns out many of D’s pieces have an Asian influence that is guided by the spirit of the dragon, her favorite mythological animal. 

Having access to two kilns at the Studio, D’s specialty is working with glass and metal using the process of enameling--fusing colored glass with metals.  In addition she torches glass to form millefiori canes fashioned into colorful glass beads and flowers. 

She describes her work as having an “ancient” feel--like something you’d uncover while on an archaeological dig.  Having continued the legacy of her mother, D makes art that is multi-functional—anything that can be worn or used.  Preferring to work “small,” I enjoyed closely examining an amazing assortment of eye candy—ornately embellished plates and bowls, wish boxes, hat pins, glass hair beads, necklaces, dragon tail book markers, hair sticks, miniature altars, key chains, and even zipper pulls.  Her studio had the feel of an antique shop filled with precious keepsakes once found on the dresser of an elderly woman from another era. 

I was drawn to a gold enamel dish shaped in a hexagon, measuring 5 inches by 4 inches.  It was designed with a deluge of wispy brown circles clumped together like tiny bubbles.  Accented by larger circles of turquoise, green, purple and red, the design had the feel of an ancient Chinese vase.  Though it was hard to decide between all the beautiful pieces, I kept going back to the gold dish and knew this was the D Love piece I had to own! 

Always eager to learn new techniques, D does not confine or restrict herself to one medium.    As a “self-taught” artist and an advocate of “people’s type of art,” she expands her talent by learning from others.  She learned paper art from her good friend Yvonne Browne, Oakland’s treasured writer and collography artist.  The two women developed and taught a children’s summer reading workshop at the Oakland Museum.  By mixing story into a tiny book using collage and cutouts, it was a fun way to motivate children to read and write. 

DiAnne is also a member of Zhi Tao Guan, a Taoist Center located in Oakland.  When a Chinese calligraphy and brush painting class was offered, D jumped in.  Her love of animals inspired her to use this newly-acquired skill to paint a cat.  When her cat immediately sold at a fundraiser, she admits she was quite surprised but very pleased. 

DiAnne brings a unique sensitivity to her personal and professional life.  Always modest and relaxed about her achievements, she’s obviously worked very hard to find the magic formula for success.  Though an impressive art degree can pave the way to big museums, and even allow the artist to teach art, “it should never be the norm.”  In her experience, there’s no difference between art by someone who’s formally trained and someone who’s self-taught.  She encourages self-taught artists, many who sell at the Oakland Artisan Marketplace, to always 1) believe in themselves; 2) do their best work; 3) respect the time, creativity and materials put into your work and charge accordingly.  “Work hard and never ever look at your art as being just a hobby.”

What do the stars hold for this amazing woman?  In a few more years, she will retire and continue living her dream life.  This will include travels to distant places, time with friends and family, frequenting galleries and never stop making art.  Plus, dancing!  It’s a best-kept secret that DiAnne loves partner dancing, and once could be found at a local club gracefully flowing with salsa or elegantly flaunting the tango.  Perhaps someday she’ll be dancing with the stars?  Who knows?  What we do know is that her life will always be a masterpiece-in-progress, where unbound creativity will grace every empty space. 

For DiAnne, there will always be yet another dream to chase ...