We were lucky to catch up with Diane Gelman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Diane, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’ve been lucky enough to have had multiple meaningful projects. My favorite though was creating the feel of an entire Pastry Shop on 3 walls of a client’s Butler’s Pantry in 2019-2020. This client had spoken about buying a painting of mine that she had seen on display hanging in the corridor of The Silos, where my studio is located. The client was so taken with the painting that she decided instead to commission me to recreate an entire customized Patisserie for her home. The day after I first toured the home and met the client, I went off on a planned trip to Alsace, France. On this trip I decided to augment my usual dessert photos with images of the shelves, the windows, and the other products on display there, so that I could create an authentic looking French design. I created a sketch for the client when I got home and suggested that she live with it in her midst so that I could change things, if she preferred. The plans hardly changed from that mock-up. I hired a carpenter to design the panels and for the installation of them, once I finished the whole project. We both met with the client early on in the process and brainstormed the design together. The client is a noted local gallerist and has a very strong sense of style and artfulness. The Carpenter took exact measurements of the spaces and notes so that he could design panels that fit together seamlessly. We decided on 5 panels. The first panel on the right side of this u shaped space, was to span 100″ and fit snugly between the cabinets, counter and the wall. The middle of the U, 55″ long, was also a working part of the pantry and also designed to fit between cabinets, counter, and the wall. The left side wall had no cabinets to deal with. We settled on 3 stacked panels for this space to create the look of the interior of the shop: a long bottom panel (125″w,) a middle panel (32″w x 60″h), and a triangular top (18″h x 30″ w- for the sign of the Patisserie shop) fitted with molding like the rest of the room. I had once heard a horror story from a friend, about when they’d hired a designer to remodel their kitchen. The measurements for key aspects of their kitchen design were incorrect and it was a nightmare for them to reorder equipment and much more. Knowing that, I asked the the carpenter to check everything ahead of time. I had him meet me at the home before he delivered the panels to me, to begin the project. He carted them all in to the butlers pantry and installed them temporarily to make sure everything fit perfectly. It did and so then I could begin to work on this project, knowing it would all fit together when it was complete. It took me about 9 or 10 months to craft the lifelike renderings of pastry cases filled with delicious desserts. I worked on it during the Pandemic and it was great to have something so all consuming at this time. The right side panel was a long scene of 3 dimensional cakes in a scene like a real case of cakes, complete with paper labels, a mirror at the back reflecting the cakes, gorgeous looking garnishes, hand carved paper air intake vent, gold leafed plates and much more. The middle of the U featured tarts and cupcakes crafted from hand carved foam core board, cardboard, glitter, gold leaf, gorgeous garnishes, labels, etc. I included cupcakes designed to look like the family pet dog, others that were each of the family members favorite desserts (all clearly labels as such), mirrors, vents, and more. On the left wall, visitors find a Macaron Tower, rows of Macarons, shelves of jams and boxes, in a scene that looked like the inside of a pastry shop. The pillars and carved filligried dentil molding was mostly crafted from lowly materials like cardboard and foam core board. The top triangular panel was adorned with, “Patisserie Larsen” (the family name) in the font made famous from the Paris Metro System. I covered all 5 panels with hard, shiny resin. The owner was completely thrilled with the project. We were both interviewed on the project for a Houston magazine, Paper City.

Houston Food Artist Creates a Wondrous Pastry Shop in Arts Advocates Own Home: Paper City, Sarah Smith, 7/20/20 https://www.papercitymag.com/arts/houston-artist-diane-gelmantransforms- butlers-pantry-patisserie-larsen/

She said “I love the sense of discovery that you have as you pass by – and then you want to take a closer look.” Larsen said “I certainly had a vision of how it would appear in the space but Diane was able to take it and execute it to the next level.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have always been obsessed by food. I was a foodie before the term was coined. I loved to cook from a very young age. I started catering for a neighbor when I was 14 or 15. I remember she had to explain what quiche was, since I hadn’t ever tasted it yet. I planned to major in Food Writing at College, inspired by the brand new Food Column in my local newspaper, The Detroit News. I had no confidence in myself and dropped out of the second journalism class on the first day, Magazine feature writing, when I heard we’d be required to submit stories to magazines. I ran to an advisor (probably crying) and asked what I should major in instead. She advised that I should become a Dietitian. To me it sounded like it had so many negative connotations, but nonetheless, I agreed with her and majored in that. I even got a Master’s Degree immediately after in Nutrition. I worked as a Dietitian in various jobs, always trying to add some creative angle to my work. At DUPAC, a Cardiac Rehab diet program at Duke University, I conceived of adding a cooking school for our patients. I wanted them to learn how to create low calorie, heart healthy foods. We moved from N.C. to Galveston, Texas for my husband’s job. I got tired of the painted white walls in our kitchen and breakfast room and decided to paint vegetables all around the rooms. It was a foot high space between the tops of cabinets and the ceiling. The first vegetable I painted was an eggplant. My husband came home from work and told me that I was ruining the house. I looked at it and decided that it looked good, or so I thought! The eggplant design was from memory but I started buying the vegetables so that I could study them while painting, to do them more justice. After I finished painting about 60 vegetables, I enrolled in my first ever art class at Galveston Community college. I took art classes there for 3 years. Then we moved to Houston to get our youngest child into a better school system. I moved up too, taking classes at Glassell School of Art , part of the MFAH. I took classes there for 10 years, eventually graduating with a certificate of Fine Arts in Painting in 2012. In 2014 or so, I met another artist who had a studio and we worked on a few projects together. She had a solo show at the restaurant, Urban Eats. I asked her if she’d mind if I copied her and tried to have a show there too. I tried multiple times to contact the owner, with no luck. Finally one day, I packed my car up with artwork. I went in, introduced myself to the owner, asked him to come with me out to my car. After seeing my work, he agreed that I could have a show. I sold a lot of work when I had my first ever solo show and I loved that! The same friend helped me find a studio and a roommate at The Silos, where her Studio was. Eventually that roommate moved and I moved up to a larger studio, when one became available. I apply to shows and various opportunities. I discovered that I was extremely competitive. The competitions I enter are often about a particular concept, so the artwork that I make is dictated by that. I entered The Outwin National Portrait Competition twice. (The competition is held every 3 years. ) I have attended the show as a tourist, in Washington DC. and was literally moved to tears by some of the work. I decided to try to paint a portrait, when I randomly saw that the competition was due a few days later. I worked on it those few days and then submitted it. I was very surprised that the work made it all the way to to the final round, where it was then ultimately eliminated. Three years later, during the pandemic I worked long and hard for months on my second portrait entry for this and it too made it to the final round, where it was also eliminated. Then there was a call for artwork for the city of Houston. I submitted my same portrait for this, with some modifications, as an idea for a mural. I was funded to create this 15’h x 30′ h mural against Racism in 2022. I’ve had multiple solo shows too. Two shows were at UrbanEats, where I had my start, then for other restaurants and also 2 Food-based solo shows at The Silos. I create various kinds of artworks but specialize in artwork about food, since that’s always been my main interest in life! I continue to enter a variety of competitions and create works of art by commission for private clients.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I never knew that I was an artist. I loved to cook and bake and always took pains with my food so that it looked just so. I took up catering along the way and learned how to create exciting food as well as tablescapes to showcase the food that I was serving. I studied art for years and years.- around 15, I think. I didn’t have a goal in. mind. I didn’t realize I was studying art to become an artist. It was all without intention or design, on my part. I just kept at it because I was driven to learn how to make art. Once I came out the other side, with lots of lessons under my belt, I finally knew enough and had enough confidence to apply what I’d learned. I kept at it and it was only gradually that it dawned on me that I was – and aways had been – an artist. I just hadn’t known it!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goals have evolved as I evolve as an artist. At first, I just wanted to make artwork. Then I wanted to make artwork that people liked enough to buy so that I could continue to make more! All of that is still true, but now I want to get a bigger audience and a bigger market. I just found out yesterday that I won an award at a show and that this gallery wants to take my work to a National art show.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dianegelman.com
• Instagram: dianegelman
• Facebook: DianeGelmanart
• Linkedin: Diane Gelman
• Other: www.click2houston.com/houston-life/2023/02/08/local-artist-creates-unique-pieces-that-look-so-good-youll-want-to-taste-it/

Image Credits
Rick Wells