Diana Curtis Design

The first artist I've chosen to profile is one of my very best friends Diana Curtis - and our connection is undeniable.

Our Connection
Diana was born and raised in Yellowknife, so there was no reason for our paths to ever cross. I grew up in Castlegar BC and had moved to Idaho, then Oregon. During this time I was away, Diana attended Selkirk College - in Castlegar (my home town)! My husband to-be became friends with her husband to-be up North and somehow I ended up in Yellowknife with my first phone call to a miss Diana to find out where to apply for a graphic design job - and our connection sparked, and stuck.

Diana's Business
Diana's courage to branch out on her own has blessed her immensely. Diana won YK Chamber's Small Business of the Year Award in her first year on her own and her reputation has kept her busy ever since. Her clients adore and admire her - she always delivers and never over-promises (how does she do that!). She has integrity, oozes talent and is just such a pleasure to be around.

Diana's family
Diana was born and raised in Yellowknife and is married to Trevor (a monster truck junkie) and they have two adorable children, Matthew and Ally. Her parents and her sister Bethan and her family also live up here as well. Being home for her children after school and during important life events pushed her to build a home office and step out into the world of self employment and she hasn't had time to look back!

Take a look at her work and see her talent for yourself http://www.gdc.net/business/find_a_designer/designer4330.php
AND just launched today - she is profiled in a new SSI marketing campaign - very cool
http://www.ssimicro.com/





Q & A with Dee:

What inspires you?

"People, and People that write blogs :), paintings, music, travel, and wine. Everything I see, I picture in a design – how its shaped, its colour. I remember these images and think of how I can introduce it in a design. Being a Designer I am always visualizing everything around me. Even books and magazines, TV commercials, all these things are inspiring to me."

Does the North have an influence in your art?

"Growing up in the North my favourite things to draw where ‘northern’ trees, rocks, lakes and sky. Then I learned how to paint them by watching Bob Ross on channel 10 painting his happy giant trees..then I tried mountains and got lost.... So I quickly retreated back to my roots..flat rocks and skinny trees. I still enjoy sketching skinny trees. "

What would you say as advice for others that are dreaming of venturing out on their own?

Talk to your friends and family, ask for advice. Research your market, put a plan together how you will sell your service in the community, city, around the globe. The possibilities are endless. If you want it to happen, it will. You need to buy a comfy chair, nice giant computer with the biggest monitor you can afford ,and don’t look back. Its an amazing ride.

Sneak Peek

I'm giving you a little peek of the artist I will be profiling next week. Hints... she's Northern, she's insanely talented and her intials are DC. Stay tuned to learn all about this graphic design diva.Enjoy your weekend!

Why Dot2doT?

Connections. They are all around us. It's the a-ha moment you have when you realize things are just right and what brought you there.

The internet is a perfect connection. It's funny how you reach out to someone halfway across the world, only to find out that their cousin, mother or best friend just happens to be your next door neighbour.

I had a recent a-ha moment. The Dot2doT concept and logo came about in University for my thesis project. What a great process that was to spend that amount of time on a project and then be able to show it in a gallery among your peers (hmmm, that's what a REAL artist does, isn't it?) anyway, why did I choose dots? why did I choose a clothing line to express myself? I wasn't sure myself.

My grandma passed away 7 years ago. We were very close and I still miss her terribly. I still rush to the phone to call her. This Christmas, my aunt gave me a wonderful present - A quilt made from grandma's clothing. Each square of material brings me back and I can see her - in the kitchen cooking big family meals, in her big green chair falling asleep before her show even ended or having her early morning coffee while looking out over the Idaho mountains. In looking at her clothes - there are many many dots. Funny. When I realized that, I felt her here with me once again and knew we were connected in a way that noone can explain.


Now that Dot2doT is here again, I can have fun with it. I hope this blog will connect the Northern artists of Yellowknife to first of all my friends and family, other bloggers, then hopefully the world. The talent that exists is always amazing to me. I hope in this process I can find my way back to creating art - I loved sketching once upon a time - and connect me to others with the same passion.