A few years ago, Christiane Drieling received a nearly complete but outdated set of the “LIFE World Library” books from a close friend. The “LIFE World Library” series was published in the 1960s and was composed of about thirty hardcover books, each painting a picture of a specific country or region, focusing on many angles of its economics and culture. All volumes have solid color backs in a variety of jewel tones, especially deep greens and blues, as well as rich red tones. A small simple line graphic of our globe, usually in white but sometimes in black, is printed in the center of the back cover of each book.
Based on these hardcover backs, Christiane has created a series of works focusing on different aspects of how we view our planet, how we feel about it, and how we treat it. The series consists of 24 pieces, one for each hour of the day. The day begins with an end, and ends with a beginning. There really is no particular order to the pieces; each work begins and ends in itself.
"To create the images for the “Earth” series, I have worked with collage techniques, mainly using paper elements from various sources. My goal was to keep the majority of the images simple and the original surfaces as visible as possible" says Drieling.
Sometimes Drieling added sewing thread, inherited from her beloved grandmother, who had sewn and mended her dresses when she was a child. She likes to incorporate sewing thread because of its purpose and the theme it conveys: to create and to hold together.
Christiane began working on this series in February 2020, and finished the last piece in April 2022. She says, "The two years in between are marked by a number of devastating hardness tests that our global society has not been able to pass yet. The 24 images are my response to what has been happening on the world stage and the effects the affairs have had on my emotional state-of-mind. I have responded with outrage and anxiety, with numbness and depression – but also with hope and the strong desire to find the good in each new day."
Bio
Christiane Drieling is a visual artist, a writer, and a storyteller, with a Master's degree in Sociology as well as with a professional journalistic background. Drieling, a German native, moved with her husband to the United States in 2001; they currently live in Ruston, Louisiana with their two children. After her move she intended to continue her career in journalism, but then decided to follow a calling to the arts. Drieling first developed a collection of handcrafted whimsical and playful objects, from hand puppets and marionettes to small ornaments and toys, all based on German storytelling themes.
Despite the success with these items, Drieling took on an artistic challenge in 2016 with the goal to find a better visual outlet for her thoughts and observations. The challenge – create one piece every day for thirty days - helped Drieling identify collage, especially working with books and other print material, as her ideal medium. Drieling’s collage work has been shown statewide.