Meet Diane Reis | Floral Artist and Visual Arts Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Diane Reis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Diane, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Moving into a creative career was second nature for me as I moved out of teaching junior high science to exploring my creative skills when my husband and I decided to start our family. For me, being creative is like breathing. It settles my soul when I am in the creative process. You cannot worry and create at the same time. I grew up in Dallas, in our family floral business, so the elements of design and color came naturally to me. As I saw the connection between nature and design, I was able to build a creative business that merged the two together and the concept for my business, Two Dandelions, was born.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a floral artist, what I love to do the most is to interpret another artist’s work through floral design, selecting specific colors, shapes, textures and flowers that speak into the work that I am viewing. I use natural materials to create a compliment as I interpret what I see and understand about another artist’s work. Part of that process is viewing an art piece and discussing with the artist their emotions and the story behind their piece. I also love to create for big events and come up with unique designs that fit a theme. This has opened the door for me to be involved in the Palette of Roses Art League, serving as the president, and to serve on the Tyler Arts and Culture Collective Board, a newly formed organization that will be a funnel to communicate visual and preforming arts events happening in East Texas and serve as a resource to local artists looking for support in a variety of ways. I am most excited about this new opportunity as well as taking my own art in a new direction.
Having business experience in a creative field gives me the opportunity to serve and teach other artists what I have learned and to facilitate programs for those interested in growing an art business. My hope is that I can continue to help facilitate the attitude of community over competition as the East Texas art world continues to grow.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are lots of hidden gems to discover in Tyler, Texas. On any given week, we have art, music and fun adventures just waiting to be explored. I certainly have my favorite hangouts that I love to share with visitors, and it usually involves our art and music scene, which has recently been exploding.

A great way to start out the morning with a little exercise is to take a walk or bike along Rose Rudman Trail and enjoy the fresh air and beautiful scenery. We can always stop for a morning latte at The Coco Bean which is located on the trail. By lunchtime, we would head to Twelve to grab a bite to eat and then make our way along the trail of murals that have brought many old buildings back to life as we head downtown. There is always a great photo opportunity with any one of these murals. One of our newest ones, by Artist Dace Kidd, was just completed and highlights some of the Tyler history.
Exploring downtown is lots of fun as we pop in to visit my friend, Aaron Hinds, in his gallery to see some amazing work. Aaron usually has a guest artist on display and currently has several pieces by Salvador Dali for sale as well. Just across the street from Hinds gallery we find Shine and The Foundry, two of our Downtown coffee shops that serve as local hangouts for creatives. They have lots of art on display, as well as great coffee and tea beverages. Shine has a little interactive gallery as you wind through the maze of art that allows the viewer to participate. Each location supports various projects as nonprofits. On any given night, we find live music here as well.
Next stop is to visit my friend, Cassie Edmonds. Cassie is a mosaic artist with a unique style and a fantastic studio to fill your creative senses. Downtown Tyler also has a history trail along the Square where you can learn lots of fun facts about the people who made up the fabric of our city. When exploring downtown, we have to stop at Art Alley to see the murals there, as well and catch a photo in front of the Wings of Tyler, another art installation. Then it is on to Gallery Mainstreet and popping in to see my friends at Visit Tyler to find out what’s new. At Visit Tyler, you find a great little local gift shop filled with “Tyler things” including candles from the Tyler Candle Company and local art. The building we are in is a historical landmark, art deco style, that has been restored for office and restaurant space. We head next door to Prime102 for a quick look at the architecture and to make reservations for dinner, followed by a delicious frozen custard at Andy’s.
It’s been a full day already and we haven’t even made it over to Southside Bank’s Gallery 113. We stop in there and then head around the corner to see one of the beautiful mosaic pieces that graces the front of the Wisenbaker building by the famous artist and architect Millard Sheets. Another beautiful installation by Sheets can be found at the Willowbrook Country Club, not far from downtown.
The rest of the week is filled with dinners at Rick’s on the Square, East Texas Brewing Company, Don Juan’s, and ETX Culture (and Speakeasy) with a stop in at True Vine on the Square for one of the local beers or wines before dinner. On weekends you will find lots of live music opportunities in downtown as well as at TrueVine/Sola Bread Company and many of our other restaurant locations. True Vine, at their main location, serves up the beer and wine while Sola Bread specializes in brick oven pizzas. Saturday mornings, hit Sola for amazing pastries, breads and croissants and possibly catch one of their pop-up markets for handcrafted items and other goodies.
More adventures for the week include antique shopping at Ye Ole City, a trip to the Tyler Museum of Art and a time of discovery at another hidden art gem at the UT Tyler College of Pharmacy. The fun continues at the Tyler Rose Garden with a visit to the roses and the Rose Garden Museum to see all the beautiful Rose Festival dresses and learn about our rich history of roses. We also view local art for sale by members of the Palette of Roses Art League. A great shopping stop is also the Rose Garden Gift Shop.
If we still have time in the week, we head to Liberty Theater or the Tyler Civic Theater to catch a local show or movie night. The Cowan Center on the UT Tyler campus always has a great show and concert line-up. If the weather is warm, we venture out on a sailboat or fishing boat to Lake Tyler or pull out the jet-skis on Lake Palestine. For the lake enthusiasts without a boat, rentals of ski boats and pontoons are available locally. The Boulders on Lake Palestine offers overnight cabins, paddleboarding and fishing for families.
Lastly, when you are in Tyler, you can’t miss our beautiful Caldwell Zoo. It’s fun for the adults and kids. Discovery Science Place is a must stop if the kids are with you.
The French pastries and coffees are also great at Laurel and Pearl. You can even find traditional New Orleans Beignets there. Live music is all around, even at our grocery store, Fresh by Brookshires, on Friday nights. There is so much more, and these are just a few of my favorites within the city limits. Time to explore continues as we touch base at some of our surrounding communities for more art, music and nature.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents, Ute and Gunter Schnetzinger, had the greatest influence on my life and career choices, They always cheered me on in whatever endeavor I wanted to tackle. My husband, Mark Reis, is my greatest encourager and supporter of all my crazy and creative ideas! And my grown children, Jessica, Christina and Jason help make me fearless with their love and support.

Website: www.paletteofrosesartleague.com and www.twodandelions.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paletteofroses/ and https://www.instagram.com/2dandelions/