Diane Nelson of Wild Rivers Art

Diane Nelson with her critters at
the Wild Rivers Art Emporium.
Photo by Donna Hailson.

While traveling through Gold Beach, Oregon, I came across the handwork of Diane Nelson, a woman who has elevated the popular, widely practiced craft of crocheting to an art form. On display at the Wild Rivers Art Emporium on the city’s main drag, Highway 101, is found a menagerie of pelicans, starfish, dromedaries, aardvarks, wildebeests, camels, flamingos, turtles, lobsters, and octopi. Two of my favorite pieces (an underwater scene featuring a clown fish and a pair of frogs climbing a bit of driftwood) are pictured here. Diane begins each piece by fashioning a wire mold that is then covered with batting, and finished with the crocheted exostructure.

Photo by Donna Hailson.

Photo by Donna Hailson.