Diana Schleicher

My interest in art led me to study for an Associate degree in Applied Science in the field of advertising art and design at the State University in Farmingdale, NY. Instead of pursuing a job in that field, I decided to work in the Occupational Therapy Department of Pilgrim Psychiatric Hospital, where I worked with many talented people in the areas of ceramics, weaving, and woodworking. I became interested in crafts, particularly sewing and embroidery. I started making soft sculptured character dolls and found I could sell them in a number of small galleries and craft shops.

I also like working with materials from nature, so I started collecting birch bark and twigs from my woods to create rustic looking boxes with pressed ferns and leaves. My interest in nature continued when I took up stained glass as a hobby. I’m inspired by the textures and colors of the glass and enjoy incorporating shells and beads into the finished work. I like to create my own designs, and I’m always getting ideas from the glass itself as to how it can be made into a piece of art in the form of a mosaic or sun catcher.