Photo courtesy of Maggie Hogan Photography
Welcome to my online art studio and classroom. My name is Diane Knauff and I am a self-taught multi media artist living in Madison, Wisconsin. My passion for art began with a box of 64 crayons and pad of paper in my first art studio when I was three years old. My studio was a small storage space at the top of some steps and I would exhibit my artwork by sticking my drawings on the nails that stuck out from the unfinished wood walls. Even then, I knew I had to create.
My medium of choice is no longer crayons but my need to explore my artistic expression has never wavered. Over the years I have tried many creative outlets and mediums but find what excites me most, that thing that makes me lose myself in my work, is to discover what is possible. Color, texture, images, text and symbols are included in my work by themselves or together. Bringing these things together in my work is my way of replicating the complex layers of the world around me. At its core, my work is an evolving exploration of art materials with which I interpret my thoughts and beliefs.
In May 2010, I became a Certified Zentangle® Teacher (CZT for short). I love to share all that the Zentangle art form has to offer both creatively and for personal well being. If you would like to know more about the Zentangle classes I teach, please contact me.
Stone Angel Arts is a product of what I called my mid-life crisis. Several years ago, about the time of my birthday, I had the feeling that I needed to create a blog. Maybe it was my reaction to the growth of the internet or my way of staying current with the life my kids were experiencing. Either way, I decided I needed an online presence and began the journey of creating that identity. Being an introvert, I didn’t want to just use my name (and let’s face it…dianeknauffart.com does not sound good for obvious reasons). At the time, I had just created some Artist Trading Cards for a swap and one of them became the inspiration for my online identity. I am a collector of quotes and decided to use one by Anton Chekhov when creating one of the cards.
``We shall find peace. We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.`` ~ Anton Chekhov
I had always loved old statues and after my sister died I seem to be particularly drawn to those of angels. So when I read this quote it seemed like a perfect tribute to my sister. The image of the stone angel led to reserving the web address of StoneAngelArts.com and the rest is history.
The ATC that started it all
