Diane Franklin
Artist, Teacher, Writer
ABOUT
Statement
Materiality and process are both important components of my artistic practice. I especially enjoy creating the materials I use in my artworks. Almost always, I start with white paper or fabric and transform it using a variety of surface design techniques. These materials then serve as inspiration for what comes next. They spark an idea, and I then begin the process of realizing that idea. As I work, I respond to what I have created and move to the next step. Rarely is the final piece the same as the initial idea with which I started.
Process involves building models, testing specific art supplies, and trying things out just to see what will happen. It frequently requires solving problems. Sometimes the technical aspects of an artwork are challenging and require much experimentation. Other times, the piece easily evolves.
Often, I am inspired by other artists. I then strive to turn that inspiration into a piece of my own. While I might work in a series, I rarely make the same thing twice. Instead, I prefer to try something new, both for the challenge it requires and for the excitement of creation.
Bio
Diane Franklin is a Boston-based artist, teacher and writer. For the past 13 years, she has made large wall pieces and smaller collages from fabric and/or paper, using a variety of surface design techniques such as shibori dyeing, screen printing, painting, rusting, botanical dyeing, monoprinting or photography, to transform the surface of her materials. Many of her fiber pieces are then heavily machine-quilted, adding another layer of texture and interest to the composition.
In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Diane lost her studio space and had to figure out how to create smaller objects in her home. She began to experiment with making artists’ books and became fascinated by the many possibilities that book making afforded. Since then, she has experimented with numerous book forms and styles, some of which incorporate her photographs, prints, collages and fiber art.
Part of Diane’s attraction to bookmaking has to do with the versatility of artists’ books. Almost any idea you can imagine can be translated into a book structure. If one doesn’t exist, then it’s possible—and necessary—to invent it. Also, the components of books are readily available and often cheap or free. Paper is everywhere, and many of her books utilize recycled materials including old books that have been discarded.
Diane has exhibited her work in numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States and has won awards for several of her pieces.
She is the author of Dyeing Alchemy, a primer and interactive workbook on Procion dyeing. She has also written for Fiber Art Now and Fibrearts Take Two. She has taught workshops on dyeing, printing and composition in the US and the Netherlands.
Diane is a member of the Surface Design Association and New England Book Artists.