Meet Diane Sherman | Artist, Writer & Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Diane Sherman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Diane, how do you think about risk?

As an artist, I am very familiar with risk. Risk taking is one of the tenants of the creative process. Without taking risks we can’t discover anything new on our own. Art teaches us how to take risks – to try something and to “fail” is part of the process and it teaches us that it is impossible to fail in life. When we tak a risk, we don’t know how things will turn out, but it is certain we will discover something. In this way, the creative process is a powerful teacher of life lessons.

Risk leads to discovery. And discovery unpeels the onion of who we are.

I became a risk taker early on. When my college roommate died of colon cancer when we were 28, I woke up to the fact that life could be short. It was time to take action on some of my dreams I had been thinking about, one of which was to live abroad. So, I quit my “day job” which was settling bond trades at an investment bank, and I signed up to teach English as a Second Language in Costa Rica in the early ‘90s.

It was one of the best choices I made in life, and it was the beginning of my risk-taking journey.

When I teach creative process classes, I encourage my students to take risks even though it’s scary. Risk is inherently associated with loss, and I see now that we must risk everything to bloom into our most authentic selves and let what falls away, fall away and be grateful for each experience along the road.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I’d be happy to!

When I look back at my life, I see how I was an uber-creative kid and super spiritual. I needed a way to express my feelings because at 7, I lost my father and throughout my childhood I was the new girl in school 6 times. So, change and needing to integrate into a new environment was my norm. Being a sensitive soul, I needed ways to work with my feelings, express myself and find ways to integrate my new experiences. I often felt I was an outsider looking in and was searching for ways to connect with my new communities.

Ever since I can remember I danced, wrote, and made visual art. These were my three companions as an only child and as a young person who moved a lot. Creativity was my refuge.

I first became a writer, following in the footsteps of my father who was a journalist for the Los Angeles Times. I became a journalist of my inner world and have kept journals since I was ten years old. I was simultaneously a visual artist, turning pumpkins into elephants with ears for Halloween, making furniture and clothes for my trolls.

My dream was to become an artist and to paint and write. I pursued Art History and later got a master’s in Arts and Consciousness which wove together art and spirituality. That degree got put into practice in a strange way after a major car accident. After the accident I became an avid art journaler, combining my love of writing and visual art, along with self-reflection.

I was in my late 30s, dancing every week, making art, living in a loft space in Oakland, CA when I was hit by a car as a pedestrian. Art and writing became my refuge to express my feelings, heal my body, and make sense of the trauma I’d just been through. Since that time, I have continued my art journaling practice and developed courses to teach others these skills that help heal and offer ways to express themselves.

Because I could never choose just one creative expression, my devotion to writing, movement and visual art has led me to a profound understanding of the creative process. What I discovered is, it doesn’t matter what the modality is, the pillars of the creative process are the same.

They include play, curiosity, experimentation, risk taking, discovery, surrender and self-empowerment. This is exactly what I teach my students when leading creative process workshops.

How to play. How to get curious. How to experiment and take risks. My students are thrilled when they make their own discoveries. Their discoveries give them new information, which leads to surrender and finally the are left with a true sense of personal empowerment because what they’ve learned is from their own experiments, risk taking and discoveries.

True knowing, of anything, comes from practice. As they say, it takes 10,000 hours to master something. Being a master of something still offers room for discovery if you keep showing up with beginner’s mind. This is what I try to do in my studio.

Alongside my love of teaching creative practices, I love painting and writing. I’ve written and published two books.

I also work with people individually creating a Talisman Painting for them. A Talisman Painting (a process I created 8 years ago) is a collaboration with my client which results in a painting that holds my client’s intentions and expresses their soul’s desire and intentions. The painting becomes a talisman which holds their intentions and serves to support their life’s journey. It is a transformative process done over 4-6 months.

My most recent passion is marrying my love of facilitating creative expression for others with refugee communities. I teach ESL (English as a Second Language) in Spokane, WA at the Spokane Community College and we are working on a project together called Facing Immigration which will be a collaboration with the ESL students. Many of them come from war-torn countries, or have fled religious persecution, economic instability and are here for a multitude of reasons. This show is about giving voice to immigrants and their stories. Stay tuned!

My mission as an artist is to create community using art as a tool – visual art, stories, collaborative art making. Every single person is creative, and my hope is for people to know they are. The most important project we must create is a great life.

So, if you are reading this, I invite you to tap into some of the pillars of the creative process… Dive in and play, get curious, do an experiment today. Go out and take a risk (notice that it doesn’t kill you!) see what you discover. Life is short. Make your own life your best one!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

OK…. I live in Spokane, WA though I am not a native. Where would I go…? I would venture to Riverside State Park for a hike, especially in early May to see the Balsamroot flowers blooming. Then we’d go to the Bowl and Pitcher for a walk along the gushing river. The Spokane River runs through the city and is spectacular.

One day we’d go for a walk along Riverfront Park and make our way to the Davenport Hotel for a spa treatment and hang out in their lounge and sip mimosas while getting a pedicure and having a steam. One morning we’d have to go to First Avenue Coffee for a Roast House coffee and then to Echo Boutique, an upscale consignment shop where I buy some of my clothes.

We’d have to do a little art tour around the city – go to the MAC (The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture) to see what’s showing, then go by Trackside Studio to see the pottery exhibit. We’d pop over to Terrain, a gallery that hosts local artists and is super involved in supporting the artists in town. We’d go by the New Moon on Sprague Avenue, and perhaps on the way get a croissant at the Grain Shed in the Perry District. Oh, and we’d have to pop over to Manito Park sometime to see what’s blooming there.

At night, we might be lucky enough to find where Milonga is playing, or Son Dulce. Or we’d go to Emma Rue’s downtown and listen to some awesome chill music and have a cocktail.

One day we’d go for a bike ride along the Centennial trail and then come back to my house and sit in my garden, grill something on the grill and enjoy the backyard in summer!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

Wow…. Well, I have been very blessed with amazing mentors, friends, support, and guidance. On my artistic journey, I must give a shoutout to my dear friend and early mentor, Mark Wagner. I met Mark through his art and tracked him down because one of his paintings spoke to me. Meeting him opened the door to getting my masters in Arts and Consciousness at JFK University. He was one of my first mentors in that program. We have remained dear friends and have a soulful connection that feeds our creative and spiritual journeys to this day.

I’ve had many amazing teachers…Sarah Powers and Donald Moyers inspired me on my yoga teaching journey for years. Through their teachings I learned the tenants of the yogic path and have taught yoga for more than two decades. Neala Hayes, Co-Founder of the Authentic Movement Institute was an incredible teacher who supported me to develop my inner witness through the practice of Authentic Movement. When I discovered conscious dance through Five Rhythms, Soul Motion and Open Floor, I found a community of people who supported deep inner work using movement as a vehicle to make those discoveries.

I want to give a huge shoutout to my close friends who love me, encourage me, support me to be the best person I can be and challenge me to get out of my own way when I’m in it. I am beyond grateful for my closest friends in the world. Thank you. I wouldn’t be who I am without you. You know who you are!

Of course, I want to give a shoutout to my parents, who brought me into this world. My father, a journalist who died when I was seven, but from whom I feel I inherited a love of adventure and writing. And to my mom and my step-father for exposing me to art, other cultures, and music and for all they did to support me.

Finally, I want to give a huge shoutout to my students over the last 35 years. Those who’ve been my yoga students, creative-play students and ESL students from around the world. You all help me to be a better person and to step up and into my purpose for why I do what I do.

Website: www.dianesherman.net

Instagram: dianeshermanarts

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.sherman.54/

Image Credits
For the photos in my studio and my journal art Ben Delaney is the photographer