Artist, Educator & Arts Administrator

30+ years of craft skills, as artist, educator and outreach coordinator for skills preservation.

Education
BA Photography, Evergreen State College, 1999
MFA in Photography, University of Washington, 2006
AA Cabinet Making, Seattle Central Community College, 2009
MA in Museum Studies, Southern at New Orleans, 2024
A lifetime of textile arts passed down from grandparent, to parent, to child.

Artist Statement
Inspired by house and home; the ornament and the utilitarian. I focus on wood, textiles and photography. The ephemeral in the object.

I practice gathering the inexplicable, negotiating emotion. I create objects that hold a considered moment: a spoon, a seat, a blanket, a toy, an ornament, an image. The material is comforting.

My creative practice is emotional regulation, it’s within the work flow that I find stability.

Teaching and Administrative Theory
My work as an art teacher, community organizer and arts administrator connects me with a local and global community.

As a teacher, I act as a bridge to resources.

As an administrator, I work to champion heritage skills preservation through skill building workshops with the artists, culture bearers and master crafts people who inspire awe in the action and transformation of material.

“It is during the action of crafting that the craftsperson experiences transformation not only of object, but of self and time. In the action of crafting there is opportunity to experience personal agency, creative energy, skill building and sustained focus imbuing the maker with a sense of satisfaction difficult to find elsewhere. Although the product of a creative act is important - enhancing ritual, expressing narrative, offering beauty, or serving a utilitarian purpose - the process of crafting also demands attention.” (Diaz, Elysha R. "Heritage Skills Preservation" December 4th, 2024. Master’s Thesis, Southern at New Orleans, Master of Arts in Museum Studies.)

CV 2025