Instagram has been a remarkable place for us to connect with talented, unique, and incredibly amazing artists. Just look at this list of talent — all because of the reach and wonder of Instagram:
Rachel Pohl
Denise Griffin
Lyn Sweet
Nicole Labonte
Lisa Martin
Max Flow
The ol’ IG has done it again!!
Instagram has recently brought New York-based artist Amy Diener into our world — and we are extremely grateful!
Amy creates incredible pieces of art from a sequence of dots — the texture, the color, the symmetry — it’s amazing! As it all comes together it’s easy to get lost in the journey the collection of dots creates.
Amy is currently living in Thailand and her art is inspired by the colors of nature and the city surroundings she encounters during her travels. The color combinations of the lupins of New Zealand, the sunflower fields and turquoise waters of Thailand, the neon pink and sky blue taxis of Bangkok, the bamboo forests of Kyoto, the colorful houses of Burano, and the multi-colored sea glass along the beaches of Barcelona have all provided Amy with sources of inspiration.
Amy paints dots because she finds the painting practice to be extremely meditative, bringing her to a state of “liminality” - a pause or space in between. It is this space where thoughts become silenced, and she becomes aware of the present moment. The process requires a lot of focus and repetition, embodying a steady hand and steady mind.
There’s a yogic lesson contained in there for all of us. Being aware of the present moment —keeping a steady mind. So many of us say this exact same thing to ourselves daily.
Just take a look at some of Amy’s incredible work:
And here are just a few more super fun things to know about Amy and see why she is so easy to love!!
- Her favorite food is macaroni and cheese.
- Amy’s paintings are very tactile in nature — kind of like a Skittle, Candy Dot, or M&M. When she eats these candies it reminds her of a time when life was filled with gentleness, kindness, sincerity, love, joy and dreams.
- Her art is a vehicle to connect to and embrace positivity.
- Amy is a cat person.
- She is also a lover of art, color, and travel.
- One of Amy’s favorite artists is Yayoi Kusama who used her signature polka dot paintings as a coping mechanism for her hallucinations.
- Her favorite TV show is Outlander (OMG I read ALL the books before Outlander was even a show — we must dish!!)
- Amy recommends the book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
- Her favorite way to spend the day is to have brunch, do some painting, and finish up with some dancing.
- The best advice she ever received was trust and believe in yourself.
- If Amy could have dinner with anyone dead or alive she would choose Ryan Gosling.
- Not coincidentally, her celebrity crush is Ryan Gosling.
- Amy’s favorite movie is anything with Ryan Gosling. (We do not disagree on any of these Ryan Gosling responses, by the way.)
- Amy’s wardrobe staple is brightly colored Bohemian clothing.
- Amy’s dream travel destination is Portugal.
- Her first job was working at a designer clothing store when she was just 14.
- Amy is afraid of rats. (Again this is a good, solid choice.)
- Amy blushes when she gets a compliment.
- Her biggest pet peeve is when others cancel plans and don’t appear to value her time.
- Her favorite podcast is Stuff You Should Know.
- Amy practices aerial yoga twice a week.
- She has been a yogi for 15 years.
- Her favorite kind of yoga is aerial because it’s challenging and fun.
- She loves practices to instrumental flute and piano music.
- For Amy yoga brings feelings of mindfulness and meditation.
- It also brings her feelings of success and achievement — when trying out complex aerial moves getting in and out of the pose creates a deep sense of accomplishment.
- Amy has had yoga moments of intense happiness, surprise, and joy when getting into difficult aerial poses.
- Amy believes yoga leads to greater personal happiness.
- Her personal mantra is one for all of us to try, self-love & gratitude.
Amy’s color palettes contain juxtaposing hues or monochrome gradients that she hopes evoke both uplifting and calming responses. Amy is interested in how her selected color combinations can affect sensory and psychological perceptions. When colors are placed next to each other, Amy is excited and intrigued by how the viewer’s mind, body, and spirit react.
These are the two yoga mat designs Amy currently has at Big Raven Yoga:
We are overjoyed to welcome Amy’s mesmerizing artistry to Big Raven Yoga — we hope you love it as much as we do!
To learn more about Amy, check out her Instagram and her website!