My Story

Hello! I’m Diane Reesor, owner and founder of Sentimental Cloth.

I am a textile based mixed media artist who specializes in creating two and three dimensional works for my clients by interpreting the stories and personal artifacts that they bring to my studio to share.

I never met a piece of cloth I couldn’t work with.

I grew up with strong connections to an Old Order Mennonite community – a culture of plain people who wasted nothing and cherished everything. Doing patchwork, quilting, making clothes, and creating fine needlework – although limited to household items – were valuable skills passed on from women to women.

Handing down clothes, cutting down worn clothes, reusing the scraps to make quilts was a time-honored tradition. Working around worn spots and torn patterns was a challenge that I always enjoyed. Recycling has always been a way of life.

My grandfather, a harness maker of renown, taught me to sew with less traditional materials. The industrial sewing machines used needles the size of a fine knitting needle and thread that was string. He taught me how to make things that were outside the world of “women’s work”. He taught me to think about how things were made and the importance of good design and properly made patterns. He also taught the art of fine workmanship. Having such a rich heritage on which I can draw has helped to keep me centered and connected in the rushed world of today. I want to pass the traditions on with my work.

Due to my unquenchable curiosity the love of new experiences and the challenge of finding new ways to use textiles led me to a Textile Surfacing Program at Haliburton School of the Arts from which I graduated.

I’ve been very fortunate to have been selected to participate in the Kawartha Arts Festival – a juried show – which takes place every Labour Day weekend in Fenelon Falls, Ontario.

Most recently I participated in a collaborative show, Clay & Cloth, featuring pieces by potter Deb Craven and myself.

It’s really exciting to realize that the number of projects in the world that could use sentimental cloth is greater than the amount of time I will ever have. It just doesn’t get better than doing what you love.