That desire to create; to take earth, as Dianne says, and transform it into something of use and something to delight the senses is also what helped Dianne survive. Her initial foray into pottery transpired as a coping strategy. Her “deep postpartum depression” and feeling of isolation encouraged Dianne to seek connection. She found the pottery of Peace River artist, Geri France and from there a path unfolded upon which Geri taught Dianne for almost two years. When Dianne moved to Stony Plain, she immediately satiated her desire for a local artistic connection and took courses from and later joined the Parkland Potters Guild.

If you assume that Dianne’s culture and history imbue her creative practise, you are right. Dianne is Cree Metis and her great grandmother was the well-known Cree Elder, healer, and midwife, Victoria Belcour. Her sacred homeland is Manitou Sakahigan, God’s Lake, also known as Lac Ste. Anne. Dianne bears testimony to that history and her profound ties with community enrich her pottery. The coming together of her own roots, and the act of creating is testament to the type of connection the beholder has with Dianne’s art. As Dianne explains, making with clay literally enables the inextricable co-mingling of the elements: earth, water, fire and air, in the sense of Dianne’s spirit.