Episode 74– You can also listen on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google podcasts, and Amazon Music
About the Episode:
Bunny talks to Dianna Shomaker and Allen Bourne about their contribution to the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico’s Healing with Heart initiative.
Links
Dianna Shomaker Art
Allen Bourne Art
Cancer Foundation for New Mexico
Healing with Heart (2023)
2024 Sweetheart Auction
Sweetheart Auction Dream Vacation Raffle tickets
I Love New Mexico blog page
Bunny’s website
I Love New Mexico Instagram
I Love New Mexico Facebook
Original Music by: Kene Terry
Featuring:
Dianna Shomaker
Dianna grew up on a small farm in western Washington state. A child of the depression, she created enjoyment from the ordinary and cast-off objects at hand. The instinctive inclinations of those days sparked a process that has continued to grow throughout a life of wonder, expression, and education. Guided primarily by intuition, she creates abstractions through a selection of media: oil, acrylic, or encaustic. The results have been rewarded with accolades and prizes regionally, nationally and internationally and have been described as lyrical, organic, and fluid. Her philosophy is that art is magical for the viewer and for artist. It should speak to our capacity to wonder, to dream, and to delight in the mystery of its personal message.
Featuring:
Allen Bourne
“I received a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in Journalism/Advertising, which included studies in photography and a news photography internship. This led to a 35-year career in communications that included strategic work in graphic design studios, magazines, advertising agencies and corporate marketing departments. A long-time interest in impressionist, abstract expressionist and color field painting, along with the purchase of an Eliot Porter photo portfolio in 1980, fueled my interest in creating abstract and painterly photography, some of which is on view at a gallery I co-own in Old Town Albuquerque, NM.” https://www.allenbourne.art/About
Episode Transcript
Bunny: (00:01)
Hi there. I’m Bunny Terry, and I’m the host of the I Love New Mexico podcast. We talk about everything here. There are no boundaries. We talk to people who are from all corners of the state, people who are chefs, who are tourists, who are artists, who are Chamber of Commerce executives, and who are from ranch families that have been here for hundreds of years. New Mexico is enchanting, and it’s interesting, and I, I can’t believe I get to do this job. New Mexico is so amazing, and I invite you to come along for the ride on the aisle of New Mexico podcast. Thanks for being here
Bunny: (00:48)
Today on the podcast. I have two special guests. I have Diana Schumaker and Alan Bour. They are both artists in New Mexico. Um, different medium, but um, they are also part of the Healing with Heart Initiative, that they’re going to have a piece of art, a collaborative piece of art that they created together in the Sweetheart Auction for the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico in February. And I am, I, as everybody who listens to the podcast, knows it’s my favorite charity. I am the board chair. And if as a cancer found, uh, cancer survivor myself, uh, stage four colon cancer, this is the most important cause in the world to me. And I just want to thank both of you, Alan and Diana, for giving of your time and your talent to be part of the Sweetheart Auctions. So, just so folks know, if they’ve never listened to the podcast before, um, the Sweetheart Auction Funds a, uh, helping Northern New Mexicans get to their treatment in the most grassroots way. It is, uh, mileage reimbursements, grocery cards, free overnight stays in Santa Fe. It’s all the things that, um, guarantee that people can get to treatment when they couldn’t afford it otherwise. I mean, they, if, if you have to decide whether you’re gonna put gas in your car or get to your cancer treatment, that’s a bad place to be Getting diagnosed with cancer is tough enough, but Alan and Diana, both of you have, um, offered to create a piece of work. Diana is the artist, and Alan is a subject, although Alan is also an amazing photographer in his own right. And I just wanna talk about, first of all, um, I wanna start with Diana. Um, I, I want you to tell us first, Diana, a little bit about how you got to New Mexico and what it is that you do as an artist.
Dianna : (03:04)
Oh dear. That’s a very complicated question. . Um, I came to New Mexico in the, uh, late 1950s as a public health nurse up in Taos County. And, um, then left there, traveled around quite a bit, um, Europe and such, and came back to going to school in, at the University of Washington, still in nursing. But through all of this, I’ve always been an artist. When I graduated from high school, I did a linoleum block print abstract when abstract expressionism was just coming out, and it won me a grand prize to college, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to go to college. So when the, when that ran out, then I went back to nursing and, uh, kept doing art through it all. And, um, it has been a, a co-mingled thing the rest of my multiple years. It’s, um, it’s, it’s a way of, of, uh, expressing myself. And when I came to New Mexico as a public health nurse, I came back to New Mexico after all my travels and, um, uh, uh, taught nursing at the University of was, or University of New Mexico, and then also went back into competing in art competitions. I mean, it’s a very convoluted trail that I’ve left behind me. And, uh, now that I’m retired from the university, I just paint all the time. That’s when I ran into Allen. I covered him with paint,
Bunny: (04:53)
. Well, I wanna hear Alan’s story. Alan, what is your New Mexico story?
Allen : (05:00)
Well, um, it’s interesting. Uh, I first came to New Mexico when I was, uh, 14, uh, uh, as a boy scout up at Philmont in Cimarron. And I have my little camera with, I know I have my little camera. Uh, I still have photos from then, and they’re just sort of these, I’d never seen mountains before. So, you know, you have all these pictures of unidentified, you know, hills on the horizon. And so, uh, that’s from that trip. And then coming out more as an adult, after my sister moved here 35 years ago, uh, I always hated to go back to Texas where I did all my corporate career. And so, uh, when I retired a few years ago, or city, and I did, uh, we made a beeline out here, uh, to, to New Mexico. But, uh, unlike, uh, compared to Diana, my, my life as an artist is relatively short. Though I did have roots in my childhood specific for, specifically, specifically, excuse me, from, uh, very inspired, uh, uh, art teachers in school. Uh, I remember there was one lady, Ms. Beavers, who gave us all little four by five, uh, uh, these packets of paintings with, uh, had the, uh, name of an artist, uh, piece, the artist’s name, and where they came from that we were expected to memorize, like the Gleaners, Malay, French, you know, that kind of thing. And we went over those lots. I became familiar with the fine arts in that way, and sent Santa, been an avid museum goer, uh, seeing major shows and informally studying, you know, various painters and sculptors mainly, uh, these days, impressionists contemporary and, and abstract. Uh, although, uh, uh, as far as my own photography, uh, it seems to be more around the landscape and abstract, uh, arena at this time. So, uh, it’s actually my wife, Cindy, we met in the late 2009, and this shortly after us, uh, getting together, she noted my interest in photography. And so I guess they got me my first digital camera and, uh, began shooting. And so did that up through my last, you know, uh, uh, my last job, even though it wasn’t my responsibility. And, uh, since then, exhibited a number of, uh, exhibitions in Texas and here, uh, and, uh, become part of portfolio review groups. And now co-own a, uh, photographic art gallery in Old Town, uh, Albuquerque. So, uh, that kind of leads us up to about now. And, uh, Diane and I met through our joint association with the faus Artist series, or Diane was one of the, uh, uh, presidents of the organization, uh, early on. And I joined about, uh, I’m on my fourth year now, so I’ve become familiar with Diane. Diane and hers work, uh, through exhibitions there. And, and then we kind of come up to the present point where, uh, we ended up, uh, in this particular project together. So,
Bunny: (07:49)
So, so there is a cancer story here, but the way I understand it is both of you are survivors. Am I right? Is that right, Diane?
Dianna : (07:59)
I’m sorry, we’re both, what?
Bunny: (08:01)
Are you both cancer survivors?
Dianna : (08:03)
No, no, no.
Bunny: (08:05)
Oh, okay. Okay. Just Alan.
Dianna : (08:09)
Yes. Um, I just have, uh, dealt with people with cancer and, and in New Mexico, in the olden days, it was also typhoid fever and tuberculosis and many other things. Um, got it, got it. That’s my connection.
Bunny: (08:26)
Okay. So, um, so this initiative always pairs somebody who has been on a cancer journey or is in the middle of their cancer journey with an artist who then cre, you know, there’s this collaboration and story sharing. I’m, I’m really curious about how the two of you did that together. I don’t know who wants, do you wanna talk about that for a minute, Alan, or, yeah,
Allen : (08:52)
I can do that. So, uh, I found out about the Cancer Center or the Cancer Federation through a former ad agency coworker that, you know, and then, uh,
Bunny: (09:01)
, oh, Craig Cunningham, right?
Allen : (09:02)
Yes. Craig Cunningham, who had moved to Santa Fe a little before. Uh, we landed in New Mexico. Uh, until then, I really wasn’t aware that, uh, any work I was doing, uh, could benefit others through something like the sweetheart auction. So I’m now in my third year of donating, you know, art for the auction. Uh, however, my, my cancer experience was, uh, to my way of thinking, a walk in the park next to so many people I’ve come across. So at first I didn’t realize how it could be expressed in any type of artwork except, uh, maybe the abstract which Diana has. So Ablely demonstrated with the piece that she has produced, uh, until getting together with her, I didn’t really talk about my cancer unless the topic came up among other patients side meet. Uh, and, uh, my, my finding out was a result of an accident and a taxi cab late one evening, coming back on a business trip, uh, and sent me to the emergency room. And, uh, during a workup there, they kind of had tumors send me. And so, uh, we began the treatment options there. And I was on a, a medical trial, uh, there in Houston that was, uh, uh, very effective within three months, uh, no sign of, uh, cancer, active cancer. Then the tumors were all bit, uh, difficult to find in subsequent screenings, although I stayed on the medications for some time, I think, ’cause it’s kind of a Guinea pig, I suppose, uh, to see the long lasting effects of the medication were. But, uh, you know, as I say, I became familiar with the di through the Theus Artist series, and once we connected on this project, I met the suggestion of Kathy Cari. Uh, it would be just talking about. And she, I told her about Diana and maybe Diana be somewhat good to have involved with, uh, you know, the Cancer Society and through her work. ’cause Diana’s been very gracious with sharing her, uh, paintings with Lasus artist series and the library, uh, to help raise funds. So I think it was Kathy said, well, yeah, maybe you and Kathy, you and, uh, Diana could get together. So once we connected, uh, Diana, let me ramble a bit. Uh, she absorbed, uh, what I said. Then she got started, uh, allowing me to offer my opinion at different stages of her painting. And though you can’t see it, she, uh, I very subtly incorporated some bits of, uh, some of my photographics, uh, photographic work in her work, uh, which me is, it really means a lot to me. So, meeting work with her has been, has actually been encouraging to me as an artist is, uh, is really able to see how even something as awful as cancer can serve as an inspiration for a work of heart.
Bunny: (11:31)
Well, and I want all of our listeners to know that the actual work is going to be the cover of this week’s podcast episodes, so people can take a look and they can also come to the sweetheart auction and bid on it. But Diana, I’m curious, I, um, I how do you take a story like Alan’s and turn it into a piece of art? How does that feel to you to do that?
Dianna : (12:00)
Well, partly because I think the difference between an abstract artist and a realistic painter is that the realistic painter tries to describe what’s right in front of them. And an abstract painter, in my estimation, is describing emotions and big concepts, not specific details. And so when Alan told me his story, I, I thought about it for a long time. And, and what I, I actually, Ellen, I never told you this, but I thought that we could make a whole long dipt tick of your story, , but I boiled it down into 1 24 by 30 painting. And, um, and Ellen’s story is, uh, one of he and Cindy meeting and having this really beautiful marriage and relationship. And then very shortly into that relationship came, as Ellen described, his whole world was all scrambled up. And, uh, and cancer sort of hung over that for my take is in about six and a half years, because he was on a special treatment program. And, then finally the light dawns again and a is declared cancer free. And he’s back to, uh, making his pictures all around the countryside and, and being very, very involved in Albuquerque art. And, um, so the, the painting went happy colors, the colors that, uh, Cindy and Ellen both associated with happiness, um, the, you know, the reds and the yellows and that sort of thing. And then this big gloomy, horrible thing that strikes in the middle of a brand new marriage. And, uh, doesn’t let mu much light in, there’s a little glimmer of Ellen’s, uh, photography work in the bottom part of this black blob that has bits of light in it here and there. And then eventually suddenly it’s like the sun comes up and the painting then moves over into a more yellow, whites, reds kind of colors and happiness again. So it’s a three part painting in a one piece canvas. And, um, and so then my take on it is the emotion that was shown in the trajectory of Ellen’s cancer. That’s about as far as I can take you. .
Bunny: (14:48)
I, well, I love that. And I’m, and what I found, what I, you know, I spoke last year to a couple of the, um, artists and, um, patients who did this work. And in fact, one of the patients, um, did not survive very long past, uh, it was somebody that was in active treatment, and they talked a lot about how it really was. It was a little bit of a transformative, um, experience for both of them, just because, you know, the patient never thought of their journey as something that could be depicted in a piece of art. And the artist, um, I, I don’t know, learned, learned a new method, a new story. I don’t know, I don’t know if that happened with either one of you. Did that, was that part of your experience here?
Allen : (15:40)
Well, you know, when we first talked about doing this, so I was, uh, being treated actually at MD Anderson outta Houston and down their main campus. And I mean, I’m there and I’m looking at, I, I feel pretty normal, you know? ’cause I never really had any side effects, didn’t even know I had this thing. And I would see people who obviously were suffering through it. So I thought my cancer story is really hardly worth telling. Um, but, uh,
Bunny: (16:03)
But, but Alan, but Alan, that’s not true. I mean, well, this is a, well, your life was turned upside down by that diagnosis.
Allen : (16:10)
It, it was, and it was for my wife too, because her previous husband had, uh, died of esophageal cancer not too long before goodness, uh, before we had met. And so, uh, it was equally, uh, a challenge for her. But, uh, but the way I, I feel good about it is that it, it shows that, um, you know, there are a lot of things going on in the cancer world today. Uh, my originally the doctor I was seeing at the time wanted me to immediately start on chemo. And I had enough friends, as many of us had who’ve been through chemo, and it’s not pretty, pretty process. And, uh, but they were, they say, well, you wanna come back and restate, we’ll restate it. We may have some other options for you. And indeed, they did. They had a, an oral medication. Uh, so no, no, nothing, no jabs except for some Rituxan in the first few weeks. And from then on, it was an oral medication, which I really had little to none, uh, in terms of side effects. So, uh, for me to go that long amount of time, I think was, I’d look at it now as kind of a, a Guinea pig for progress. Uh, because they, they, the, the doctors involved were able to look at the results and decide whether or not stuff that they could roll out to a lot of other people, uh, that’s less caustic to them. Uh, because certainly this was a, I can’t imagine a less caustic kind of, uh, uh, cancer treatment experience compared to friends of mine who’ve been through it. So I felt better about it that way. But, uh, as say, comparing with other people I know had just the rucius at a roughest of times. I think I have a friend right now I’ve known since college, and he’s on his third cancer. Uh, and so, uh, but dealing with it all right, uh, ’cause he is a, you know, just those kinds of people. But, uh, I think manna could have been like that, but it wasn’t. So, uh, so anyway, um, that’s kind of where I came out on it, is at first wondering how, how I even qualify . But, but now I can see how there’s a role for everybody, you know, and, and, uh, and the cancer exploration and research, uh, you know, to find new ways to treat people. So.
Bunny: (18:07)
And what about you, Diana? Did, how was this experience for you?
Dianna : (18:11)
I found it very easy. I mean, Alan is, um, not a secretive sort of person and was quite willing to share with me what he had gone through and why we should form this alliance with creating this painting. Um, and, and Cindy’s equally as outgoing as Alan is. So it was, I found it very, very easy to understand what they were talking about. And partly, I must admit, I rely on my own history of working with patients who had a variety of other things. Um, some of ’em, uh, the usual things that we found in New Mexico in the early days when I was here, and then working with, um, uh, students out on the Indian reservations and the conditions that they had suffered through. So that all gave me a background for approaching Ellen’s proposal about, um, somehow presenting this, this avenue of cancer and happiness and confusion and everything else, all mixed up into one. It, um, it would’ve been much harder if Alan were an introvert. I wouldn’t, wouldn’t have been able to get into your brain nearly as fast Alan
Allen : (19:50)
.
Bunny: (19:51)
Well, and I would say, I mean, I don’t, I don’t wanna be really jitter specific, but I have found that men don’t like to talk about their health nearly as freely as women do. So, um, so I appreciate that, that you were willing to do this. I appreciate that both of you’re willing to do this. I’ve seen the work, and I think it’s really, I love it. It’s a fabulous piece. So thank you both for taking the time to do it.
Allen : (20:18)
Well, you know, I wanna add that, uh, working with Diana was really, I mean, I’ve always been shy about even thinking about, uh, painting. Although I’ve studied a lot, studied painters a lot, and always kind of been hesitant to do that. And ’cause I didn’t really, the process, didn’t know the process and really hadn’t got trained on it. And, and, uh, just watching Diana, Diane will tell you that she’s an intuitive painter, and it was just marvelous watching her say, well do a little of this. She grabbed a twig at one point, just a little tree twig, and was making some marks on her work with that. And each time I would go back, she’d changed some other things, but I could see she explained to me, uh, the technique of layering and, uh, uh, layering again and sometimes changing things up. And,that really gave me a little more confidence. In fact, I since then, uh, gone out and, and purchased from a moving friend not a tripod at Easel. So I’m, I’m one step closer to maybe investigating, uh, uh, you know, a little bit of painting at some point. And I know Diana’s there to maybe guide me at some at some point. And Thanks.
Bunny: (21:24)
So, where can people, I know Allen, that you have the gallery, but Diana, where can people find your work?
Dianna : (21:31)
I am not in a gallery at this moment, but I’m in a whole series of shows. And so the best place is to go onto my website, uh, diana shoemaker.com. And, um, and I list the shows there. I currently have a small show going at the, um, um, art gallery in Hoffman Town. And let’s see, where else is there? I I’ve just come off of a series of shows too, but my website is my best thing.
Bunny: (22:10)
Well, so we will provide in the show notes, there are links to Diana’s website and to Alan’s website and the address of Alan’s gallery in Old Town. And, and, and you can also come to the Sweetheart Auction on February 10th at the Santa Fe Convention Center. And I’m telling you, if you don’t have tickets yet, and I know that you guys, we already have space for the two of you, but to our listeners, if you don’t have tickets yet, get online@cffnm.org and get your tickets because they are going very quickly. This is an event that sells out, um, Santa Fe and the surrounding communities are so generous and there’s so many people who are anxious to come out and see what, especially, especially the flat art is so amazing. So, um, I can’t wait to see you both there. I hope I’ll see you both there. And I just wanna say thank you again for agreeing first to do the project, the Healing With Heart Project, and then to do the podcast.
Dianna : (23:16)
Podcast. Well, thank you very much for, for your patience. I wish I were a better, um, better prepared to do this sort of thing, but my ears aren’t good. My brain’s a little soggy, uh, but my memory’s good, so I can forget all the mistakes.
Bunny: (23:34)
. So Diana, is it okay for me to ask what year you were born?
Dianna : (23:38)
Oh, I’m 90.
Bunny: (23:40)
I didn’t know that. ,
Allen : (23:42)
You, you wouldn’t know it from being
Dianna : (23:43)
Around is Diana, is that what we’re
Allen : (23:44)
Asking?
Bunny: (23:45)
Yes, I was. Yes. Yes, you
Allen : (23:48)
Would. You would know. That’s so cool. Not know that from being around her. She is as energetic and, uh, bright and, uh, and, and recollective of so many things. I, I hope to have the same skills when I, in the years to come for me. So, uh, she’s
Bunny: (24:01)
Inspiration too. Yeah, me too. Thank you both. Thank you, Diana. Thank you both. Yes.
Dianna : (24:06)
Well, there are a few artists that have lived to be a hundred and still working, um, Hokusai that did the great wave in China, he painted until he was 90, I believe. And um, up at the Denver Art Museum, there was a woman who was 87. Now I’m assuming this podcast or this, uh, conversation with us is going to be edited. So I’ll tell you about this woman in Denver. Okay. She said when she was painting, she was 86, and somebody that approached her said, well, that’s not possible. At 86, you really shouldn’t be painting. And she said, well, I am 86 and so, and I am still painting. And, and um, and her final comment was,
Bunny: (24:54)
. I love that. I love that.
Dianna : (24:58)
Anyway, that’s kind of how I feel. I think at 90, if I can still be painting, maybe at a hundred I’ll still be painting. And Alan don’t get any more cancer. We’ll just be friends with WR Art. Okay.
Allen : (25:12)
That sounds good to me, .
Bunny: (25:13)
Okay. Thank you so much, both of you. My pleasure.
Dianna : (25:19)
You bet. Thank you for putting this together.
Bunny: (25:22)
Oh, oh, it’s been a pleasure. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to listen to the I Love New Mexico podcast. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share it with your friends on social media or by texting or messaging or emailing them a copy of the podcast. If you have a New Mexico story that you’d like to share with us, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our email address is I love New Mexico blog@gmail.com, and we are always, always looking for interesting stories about New Mexico. Subscribe, share, and write a review so that we can continue to bring you these stories about the Land of Enchantment. Thank you so much.