Diana Stetson

My work has always involved juxtaposition of text with image. I studied classical European and Asian lettering seriously for many years before I began working as a printmaker in 1990. Initially, poetry inspired my images, and lately I have found that I work in the opposite direction – I start with an image that interest me and then sometimes find or write a text to relate to it – often simply a question or a haiku poem. Incorporating text into visual images can give a second dimension to the experience of the artwork., because of the content as well as the visual power of written forms themselves. My studies and travels in Asia, Mexico, Greece and Europe and my marriage to a Buddhist priest, have helped nurture a comtemplative and cross-cultural aesthetic in my work. I’m honored to sign all of my work with the “chop” or signature seal that was designed and carved by my Chinese teacher in 1980 when he gave me my artist name, which translates from Chinese into English as Red Elegance.