Diane Downs Lou is a mixed-media artist/writer/teacher whose art and art-related articles have appeared in many publications including Somerset Studio, Cloth Paper Scissors, Artitude, Gallery III and VI, Altered Arts, Somerset's Wedding and ATC books, Art in Your Pocket, and many others. She has organized international collaborative art projects, and has taught and exhibited at numerous venues throughout the Pacific Northwest. Her current passion is found-object assemblage, and exploring art from the aspect of creative play. She and her husband, fellow artist Nils Lou, share their lives and a studio in the Oregon Coast range.