My name is Diane Anastasio and I am a textile artist, weaver and shepherd currently based in Ojai, California. My work is inspired by my Italian-American upbringing and by the landscape, food and culture of Sicily. My ancestors there were lace weavers and farmers who tended a community farm called Acqua Fredda, or cold water. I like to think of my hands as an extension of theirs, born of the same fiery Sicilian DNA, with a desire to manifest (to bring forth with one’s hands, or mani) beauty and life in daily ritual. I am grateful for all that their hands have taught me about living on this earth.

 

My mission as a weaver and shepherd is to exemplify the full circle of wool production, from raising the sheep on pasture, to breathing new life into their wool in the form of utilitarian pieces of art that serve as a reminder of the special relationship between humans and sheep that has evolved over thousands of years. My work is about exploring the connection between land, livestock and lineage while celebrating wool as an incredible renewable resource that can benefit the earth in these times of climate crisis.