We recently connected with Ginny Diezel and have shared our conversation below.

Ginny, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I love being an artist! I worked my way through college as a summer intern at the State Department in Washington, D.C., and taught French for four years. While I loved those jobs, my life as an artist has brought me lifetime rewards. Although being an artist is not a 9-5 profession, it is constantly uplifting, constantly stimulating, always entertaining, never the same! The privilege of creation is not to be taken lightly. I am thankful that this has been my path.

Ginny, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I do not recall a time without art in my life. As a child, my parents indulged me in what we could afford – crayons, dime store watercolors, newsprint paper , and of course, natural materials – sand, leaves, cones, rocks, and twigs so that today, I am still painting and/or sculpting on rocks, driftwood, and chunks of mulch, with the addition of air dry clays. My supplies remain affordable, easily found, and therefore perfect for my creativity. Canvas work has opened up another dimension for me, and that has been a lot fun to incorporate into my body of work.

I have an education degree, with a teaching field in French, but no formal art training. My father used to say that he thought I should not take lessons because that could affect my style, and influence what I would create. And, true to his sense of humor, he encouraged me to pursue my artwork by telling me that it would keep me off the streets and out of the pool halls! Developing my ‘look’ has been a lifelong process of learning by doing to explore this passion. When my son was born, I left the classroom and wanted to do something which I could enjoy, so that I could be home with him and earn money as well. I began to paint on any surface imaginable, and did many a show with my mother as my beautiful, supportive sidekick. I designed for her, and her crewel embroidery was exquisite. Customers knew her work was limited because it was labor intensive activity, so the crowds would stream into the hall when the show opened, in the hopes of snagging one of her pieces. Designing for Mom led me later to design work for licensing.

When my son was preparing to enter college, I began to wholesale my artwork to pay for his education. I traveled to Pennsylvania to participate in major trade shows to exhibit my painted gourds and wood pieces. I wrote orders, scheduled delivery dates, and scoped out my entire year in February! Fortunately, my customers supported this endeavor, which in turn, put my son through undergraduate and graduate schools. He is now a film editor in Los Angeles.

Once my son established himself in his chosen profession, I began to engage in more retail shows, and to look at other opportunities to grow in my work. I have licensed my illustrations and sculpted pieces with several companies over the years, and currently work with CBK Needlepoint for which I create original designs with an emphasis on what I love the most – animals and holidays.

I believe that my whimsy and humor manifest themselves in what I do. Regardless of theme, I usually manage to elicit a grin from those who see my painted canvases or my sculpted work. I am fortunate in that I work in two- and three-dimensional pieces. What I sculpt, I can draw and paint, and what I can draw and paint, I can sculpt. This means that I can appeal to my customers in more than one medium. My emphasis has been on holidays, particularly Christmas, and on cats and dogs, but I also sprinkle in a few birds, squirrels, raccoons, polar bears, and any other animal which might spark my enthusiasm. With painted canvases, I create custom pet portraits, holiday whimsy, and my new collection entitled Birdz with Wordz which brings out the smiles and sighs as some colorful birds illustrate the messages on canvas. Recently, I took an eight-week course in surface pattern design, so that I could expand once again. My hurdle is that I am not a techie! AGH! I always tell folks that I can paint a picture of a computer, I can sculpt a computer in clay, but work on a computer? Oh my! So, I am busily conquering my lack of skills so that I may design for wallpaper, textiles, dinnerware, paper goods, and anything else I can think of where my artistic view of the world might be welcome.

It is important to me that my customers know that my work is original, and that when purchased, they are assured that theirs is the only piece like it. I do not use molds, have nothing mass produced other than I have my original designs printed for Christmas gift tags. In a world of imports in the giftware industry, I am a dinosaur in some respects. I still create each piece, one at a time. I do not do frightening or scary work – not my jam. I want what I create to make people smile, even laugh, and be content with what I do.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

As an artist, I believe the manner in which I view my surroundings, and my world, has rewarded me throughout my life. Creative people look for possibilities, see possibilities, and can act on what they see. I might see an animal in a cloud formation and paint a canvas as a result of that discovery. I might see a piece of driftwood and envision an entire collection of whimsical faces. The further our society moves into devices, the fewer opportunities to explore one’s environment for the simple beauty found everywhere. Creatives keep that beauty alive through music, dance, artwork, film, and the like. My mind buzzes throughout the day, and into the night with a bombardment of concepts. Fortunately, I never lack for inspiration. Fortunately, the ideas continue to flow.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Over the years, I have been asked countless times about what I do for a living. For some asking the question, it has been genuine interest. For others, it may have been merely a filler in conversation with no real intent on listening. ‘Oh, that’s…interesting’ or ‘Really? Why do you do that?’ or ‘Yeah, how nice’ . and frequently: ‘But, can you make money at it?’…As a creative person, I live what I do, in that I create every single day, enjoy looking at the work of fellow artists, and essentially drink in everything I see. It’s a double-edged sword because I notice more! But, I notice more…If I have not been able to create for a few days, I am restless. Creativity is as much a part of me as breathing, so it is a passion, but it is also a need. For non-creatives, this can be problematic, not understanding that the drive is to create, and not merely to dabble now and then. It has been a lifelong pursuit, regardless of my degree, and it has sustained me through the best of times and through the worst of times. I am grateful that this brain and heart, which see the world in a certain way, can share with others!

Contact Info:

• Website: ginnydiezelstudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginnydiezel/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GinnyDiezelStudios/
• Other: etsy : https://www.etsy.com/shop/GinnyDiezelStudios original sculpted Santas: Santas.com needlepoint designs: cbkneedlepoint.com

Image Credits
Tom Crockett, photography