Portfolio of Works

These sketches, some just photocopies of the originals, are all that remain of a design project for producing a line of T-shirts for gymnasts. A few more details can be found in this blog post:  http://dianepoolfineart.com/blog/95633/winged-gymnasts

I absolutely cannot remember when I made my first etching...perhaps it will come to me later.  Perhaps it was when I hitchhiked down to Mexico with my dog, to spend a little time at the Instituto Allende, in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.  I don't think I still have a print of the etching I made of that adventure, but will try to photograph and add later an over-sized, heavily embossed (sans ink) print made then, of a water well's deeply weathered wooden pulley, covered with vibrant jicama vines.

Returning to California financially strapped, the four 'I Must Be You' prints were artist-proofs printed on cheap paper and never into an edition of quality. They've since been lost to termites, the plates equally vanished.

I'd only recently recalled the 'Water or Wave' quote, not having seen or thought of the print for fifty years, when a forwarded email arrived with a darkened photograph of the etching. There was no explanation from either the original sender or the go-between sending it to me but I am grateful as it holds a poignant place in my heart.

The other five prints were made with equal emotional significance, etched, and printed in a back porch studio while building our boat, PILAR, and juggling free-lance graphic work (No, 'Districtus',  is NOT a self-portrait):

At the time I was exploring this tactile medium, I seriously considered creating a series of nail sculptures for the blind to be able to appreciate...undulating surfaces and textures, shapes...wish I had done so. It would have been wonderful fun.

And who knows? Maybe I still could...

...for now, this link to an archived Picassa WebAlbum has the photos of a lot of early art, including other styles of soft-sculptured dolls (plus a number of handbound books) that will eventually make their way into this revised format website.

Originally created as a wedding gift for Michael & Stephanie, aboard s/y WILD GOOSE, these three, individually-authored stories are linked by love into a hand-bound book for two very special marriages.

More of the motivation for crafting this book can be found on this website by clicking here...or to view the individual book pages: YouTube_Marriage 3 Stories

This is my sister after hanging one of her larger sculptures in a collector's home.  I love this photo of her.  She looks so happy. So fulfilled. There was another one I was tempted to use of her hanging the sculpture, the ladder still in evidence of how high and BIG her work is, Donalie radiating the energy she felt in being there, the master of installation as well as creator.

She truly is a Master of her art, having honed her craft for over forty years while providing a living as an artist for herself and daughters even before she became a single mother.  My heart swells with admiration. 

Read more about her work, in her own words, in a blog post you can find by clicking Here, where she describes the delivery and gallery sale of a sculpture.

From my sister's artist's statement I've copied this portion but don't let the smooth and flowing words fool you into assuming her personality is that way, too. She's a wonderfully vibrant individual:

"Donalie's sculptures are abstract portrayals of the smooth energy of flowing water and the coarse strength of earth's elements. She combines the vitreous properties of fractured plate glass with copper, bronze and steel to convey the light and power of nature. Personal challenges and triumphs have been the catalysts for Donalie's artistic transitions from fiber sculptures to contemporary glass art, to the abstract glass and metal sculptures she now creates.

"The experience of raising my two daughters alone has taught me much about my own inner spirit and values. Alison and Keri and I have "grown up" together and realized that life is filled with opportunities. The girls also inherited a passion for life and adventure from their father that continues to inspire me to never settle for the ordinary."

Donalie has been with Coda Palm Desert Gallery for over 30 years!  More of her dynamic artwork can be found at their website: Donalie@Coda Gallery

as well as this new piece at the WILD HOLLY GALLERY:

or  contacted Donalie direct at (530) 621-2549 for custom inquiries.

"...the desire to build a boat is the desire of youth, unwilling yet to accept the idea of a final resting place...It is for that reason, perhaps, when it comes, the desire to build a boat is one of those that cannot be resisted. It begins as a little cloud on a serene horizon.  It ends by covering the whole sky, so that you can think of nothing else."

-Arthur Ransome-

Racundra's First Cruise, 1923

The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera~ Dorothea Lange 

One eye looks within, the other one looks without.~ Henri Cartier-Bresson 

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. ~ Ansel Adams

Photos taken from the upstairs windows of my former studio,

  through ground floor windows of the classroom...

    from the deck of my home, PILAR,

     through the daily windows of my eyes.

What began as a simple appreciation of life in the Philippines during an email exchange, prompted an affirmative response that has inspired this collection of being touched by unaware strangers, glimpsed fleetingly.

Silent.  Singular.  Stationary.  Sacral.

Initial portraiture experiments were with multiple-exposure photographs of humans using old technology of film,  but since have dipped my toes into using Photoshop. Future experiments with the photo collage for creating self-portraits with inanimate subjects are of great interest to me, too.