Artist. Chauffeur. Caregiver. Daughter.
In May, Dianne taught her first crafting class for residents; the theme was Beach Weaving 101. She likes to rummage through thrift stores for scrap fabric and make art from found items, like driftwood and sea shells. She thought residents might enjoy doing it, too.
In this year’s Art is Ageless competition, Dianne took first place in the fiber arts category with her weaving, “Moon Over the Mississippi.” But she downplays the honor because, she said, there were no other entries in that category. That’s what inspired her to share her skills and offer to others to weave. Activity Director Carol Winch and her staff welcomed the idea.
“I thought it wasn’t quite fair (that I won), so I’ll get a lot of competition now by teaching others how to do it,” said Dianne, who has a background in art education
She also took first in the mixed media/crafts category (professional division) with a collage titled “Four Faces of Eve.” Again, she used recycled materials in this piece — Dianne cut off the pictures from those return address labels that nonprofit organizations send out and used them for the background.
Dianne has been entering Art is Ageless since she moved to Farmington about five years ago to be closer to her dad, Billy Dickerson, a Presbyterian Manor resident, and her daughters and grandchildren.
Dianne is a familiar face around our community; she also provides transportation services for a couple of our residents. She lives close enough to walk over and visit her dad often, but she wouldn’t call herself his caregiver. “He’s pretty independent, much to my brother and I’s chagrin,” she laughed.
The Dickerson family lived in Hawaii for five years while Billy was in the Navy. That’s where Dianne’s mom, Frankie, learned to hula. From then on, she loved to teach and demonstrate the dance wherever she could – and some residents may remember Frankie doing the hula at parties in our community!
After Billy retired from the service, he and Frankie eventually moved to Sikeston, Missouri, and then to Presbyterian Manor about 10 years ago. They were married for 67 years; Frankie died in 2013.
We’re grateful to people like Dianne who give so much to our community. She would like to teach a variety of crafts that residents would like to do, so watch for announcements of upcoming classes and join her to learn something new!
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