Wallace found her niche at The W
Damiyana “Diamond” Wallace, a graduating senior at Mississippi University for Women, is much like a typical art student. She goes to class, studies for her tests, converses with her friends and creates works in her chosen mediums: photography and printmaking. One thing sets Wallace apart: she is legally blind.
Wallace’s work is striking. Her photographs are blurry, but rest assured, this is by design.
“I like to show people how I see the world in my art,” she said.
Her style extends into her printmaking too. She adds an overlay and ghosts to her prints, which achieve a blurred effect.
Her time at The W allowed Wallace to explore her style, which shifted over time thanks in large part to a suggestion from her printmaking instructor Shawn Dickey.
“In the beginning, I was doing flowers and stuff like that,” Wallace said. “My professor said, ‘You know, doing thorns might be a good idea.’ So, I’ve been doing that ever since he suggested it, and I’m starting to branch out more without doing thorns, doing very bold branch-like prints now as well.”
Dickey has, firsthand, experienced Wallace’s growth as an artist in her time at The W.
“She has a noteworthy approach to art making – one that is open to guidance from her instructors with an immediate adaption of that idea to her work,” he said. “This approach results in a cycle of revision-thinking- discussing- revision, which in the art world is referred to as research, process, synthesis and product. She has continued to follow that process throughout her time at The W, and one can easily see upon review personal growth and maturity of concept.”
Wallace’s path to art as a field of study was due to the encouragement of a teacher during her high school years to pursue her talents.
Word of mouth, however, is how she found her way to The W.
“Someone told me that [The W] had a good art program. So, I thought, okay, good idea!” Wallace said.
Once on campus, she found that it was even better than she had hoped.
“I’ve met a lot of different people. I’ve seen a lot of different art and art forms. I’ve tried different types of art while I was here. It’s been great!” she said.
Following graduation, Wallace’s ultimate goal is to travel the world. Cataloguing the sights and scenery in her own, unique perspective to share with the world how she sees it.
One thing is for sure, Wallace has left her mark on faculty in The W’s art department.
“Despite her challenges – Diamond has proven that being a dedicated artist involves not some supernatural gift of talent, but one of hard work and devotion to one’s discipline,” Dickey said.