BY LISA JIZRAWI, JULIE PAIVA,
with contributions from MARTHA SHEPP AND PEGGY TRIGG
The community of Questa is mourning the passing of one of its creative sparks. Diane de Fremery passed away peacefully on Feb. 21, at Scott’s House in Santa Fe, a hospice setting. She had been struggling with a recent leg injury, a fall, and then a stroke that led to fatal complications.
The community will be coming together to honor Diane and her creative work on Sat., Apr. 25 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Questa Library, with a retrospective display of over 50 of her images beginning Apr.13.
Diane was born in Berkeley, CA, in 1947. She was the eldest of two daughters born to William de Fremery and Clairnelle Lehman. Diane gravitated toward the arts at a young age, painting and dancing ballet. She graduated from San Jose State University in 1981, with a degree in Creative Arts. She took many different art classes, including a movement workshop, a music in world cultures class, weaving, printing on fabric, photo transfer onto cloth, watercolor, ceramics, photography, folk dance, papermaking, ceremonial clothing, and art history. She was a member of the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma.
Diane created art and saw the world through an artist’s eye. Raised in a family active in nature conservation, she spent a lot of time in Yosemite National Park both as a child and as a mother, bringing her two daughters there yearly, instilling in them the ability to see art in nature. The natural world, light, sound, vibrations—these were among many of Diane’s teachers.
Introduced to the Dances of Universal Peace through her community in San Jose, CA, she became a Sufi (a seeker of truth) and practiced for over 20 years. She also participated in the drum circle at the center of the dances.
Diane moved to Taos, NM after a visit to the area. She said, “The [Taos] mountain is calling me,” and she spent many years at the foot of that mountain, as a receptionist at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. She loved talking with visitors, sharing the best spots to paint, where to eat and how best to experience Taos.
Diane created an artist retreat on her land in Questa. She constructed a garden, an outdoor tea house, a ceremonial teepee, and an art studio she named Laughing Waters. She offered “plein air” watercolor workshops: it was a place to reflect, to be still, to create.
The local community remembers Diane as a kind, caring, creative, and colorful individual, always supportive and interested in people. She would listen and discuss concerns, hopes, and dreams.
She was very active in local activities, especially art events, and was always eager to get to her weekly scrabble or her community knitting gatherings.
Diane was a lifelong artist, experimenting with techniques and styles. “She was the most creative person I knew and was a huge advocate for the arts,” commented Peggy Trigg. She showed her work at numerous locations, including the Millicent Rogers Museum and in the Questa Art Tour.
Her earliest work showcased realism and with time led to abstraction with strong emotion. Every piece had feeling flowing through it. Diane also fit the part, “Diane dressed like a painting, composing her ensemble from a mixed palette of color and forms, texture and line. “It always suited her,” commented Sandra Harrington.
She is survived by two daughters; her younger daughter Julie, son-in-law Jeff, and granddaughter Eloise; and her older daughter Lisa, son-in-law Alex, and grandchildren Victor, Olivia, and Sophia.
Her artwork will be on display at the Questa Library starting Apr. 13, and a memorial will also be held there Apr. 25 from 2 to 4 p.m. Please join us for storytelling and reflection on Diane’s impact on our lives.
Her family wants her artwork to be shared with her friends and community, so if you are interested in having a piece of her work to live on in your hearts and memories of her, they will be available when the show comes down or at the memorial. For more information, please contact Martha Shepp or Peggy Trigg, through the Questa Library.
