Diana Grygo aka The Lone Beader is a Quincy, Massachusetts based bead artist. She creates dimensional relief art by stitching glass seed beads. Each of her creation shows how laborious bead-work can be.
Most of her beaded paintings are inspired by pop art, vehicles, city scenes, music and dogs. "I prefer solitude while creating bead-work and creates them without the assistance or company of others", Says Diana
We contacted Diana for a small interview with us. Let's know more about her and her artwork in the interview below:
Diana, please introduce yourself to E-junkies.
Hello E-junkies! My name is Diana Grygo aka. The Lone Beader. I am a bead embroidery artist currently working in Quincy, Massachusetts.
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| Gasoline District. (Beaded Boston trolley) |
Enlighten our readers about your wonderful artwork.
I like to make large beaded paintings of cars and city scenes, as well as small beaded pet portraits and dog pin/ pendants. My beaded dogs and cars are known for their realism, and my paintings are really beaded relief - standing out of the canvas anywhere from 1" - 3" in depth. My bead work is created with needle and nylon thread which is laborious & very time-consuming work, so I document the process on my blog: http://blog.thelonebeader.com/.
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| Divas |
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| The Messenger |
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| Tigress |
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| Zephyr Zebra |
How did you get into this artwork? Is there any story behind it or is it something thats God gifted?
I have always enjoyed creating art & crafts since I was very small. I used to do a lot of needlework as a child, but it wasn't until many years later when I re-discovered seed beads and all of their possibilities. Now, I think of beads as paint or collage materials, and I constantly thinking of new materials to incorporate them into my works. I am a self taught artist, but I feel that I am still trying to master the art of patience - a quality which is necessary to complete any piece of bead-work, large or small.
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| Beaded Shar Pei pin/pendant |
What motivates the artist within you? Is there anyone whom you idolize?
I think what motivates me the most is my own imagination & curiosity. When I see a cool car or building, I always think "I wonder what that would look like beaded.." I love Pop Art, and am inspired by artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Eduardo Paolozzi. As far as bead artists go, I am inspired by Sherry Serafini & Laura McCabe as they are always creating something very ambitious!
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| Laguna de Flamenco |
Which was your first creation? How was the experience?
My first bead painting was a 9" x 12" piece called 'Flamingo Moon'. It took me about 100 hours to create. It is bead embroidery stitched to an acrylic painted canvas. I never thought I would stitch it to a canvas, but I needed a way to display the bead-work, and that's how my beading style was born! I submitted a photo of this piece to Bead & Button Magazine, and they published it in 2005! That publication eventually led to a commission of a similar piece called 'Laguna de Flamenco'. It was a great experience!
Everyone has their specials. Which creation of yours is the most special to you? And why?
My beaded '43 Chevy fire truck, Engine Co. 6, is the most special to me because I created it in memory of a childhood friend who perished in a fire. This is also the piece that has been published & exhibited the most.
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| Engine Co. 6 |
What are your creations inspired by? What influences your artwork?
I am inspired by classic cars, city scenes, dogs, and nature. Recently, my travels to foreign countries have influenced my bead-work, as well.
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| Sinking St. Mark's Square (Venice, Italy) |
How much time does it take you to complete one creation?
This depends on the size of the piece. I can create small beaded pin/ pendants in 6-10 hours. My largest painting, my beaded White House took about 6 months to create from start to finish. It's impossible for me to count the hours on paintings because so much design work goes into it even before I begin beading!
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| Taken By Storm |
Other than creating art with beads, what are the other things that interest you?
I love listening to music. I also love road trips, going to the beach, taking nature walks, visiting art museums, and traveling overseas in search of beads.
Which is the next project you're working on?
I am currently working on a large beaded painting of Radio City Music Hall (NYC). New York City is my favourite U.S. city and Radio City is my favourite theater. I became inspired to bead this scene went to see my favourite band Porcupine Tree play there last September. I'm excited about this piece because I plan to add a beaded taxi cab or two. Creating beaded cars is always a fun challenge!
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| Waiting for Dad ('78 Datsun pickup & Golden Retriever) |
What's your take on E-commerce? How does it help an artist grow?
E-commerce is very important now, especially for artists. It used to be that you had to pound the pavement to get your work out there, but now all you have to do is set up an online shop, blog, and a couple of social networking sites and you're in business. All the internet tools we have now help to make the world a much smaller place. With the help of Google, people from all over the world will be led right to your website or shop.
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| Rudy's Dream |
Many other artists would draw inspiration from you. Do you have any message for them?
Whatever you create, just keep forging ahead! Remember that creative sparks will come and go in phases. The key to regenerating creative inspiration is to never stop creating. One bead at a time!
Diana, all your creations look so beautiful. It was a pleasure to have a great artist like you on E-junkie. Thank You! We wish you all the very best!
Twitter: The Lone Beader.
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Great interview!I've been following Diana for a while and she is a fantastic artist. I enjoy watching works like Radio City Music Hall slowly come to life on her blog. Way to go Lone Beader and E-Junkie!
We're glad you enjoyed her interview. All credit to lovely Diana. :)
We're glad you enjoyed her interview. All credit to lovely Diana. :)
Great interview!I've been following Diana for a while and she is a fantastic artist. I enjoy watching works like Radio City Music Hall slowly come to life on her blog. Way to go Lone Beader and E-Junkie!