Q&A with Jenny M. Diaz, American Flowers Week 2025 Featured Artist
02 Wednesday Apr 2025
Written by Debra Prinzing in 50 States of American Grown Flowers, American Flowers Week 2025, Botanical Couture, News & Events, Promotional Ideas
The American States Quilt Block Series, a hand-painted collection
Slow Flowers Society has relied on the creative talents of Jenny Diaz since 2016. Her contributions to our visual brand have been essential for building the Slow Flowers Movement. Jenny has an uncanny ability to listen closely, interpret inventively, and express ideas in highly effective ways. We are always eager to see how she takes the “wish list” of what we want visuals to achieve, because they far exceed expectations.
Since creating the logo art for American Flowers Week in 2016, Jenny’s influence on this national floral promotional campaign have been everywhere.
In 2016 and 2017, she hand-illustrated our USA Map and 50 States of Local Flowers coloring artwork, still used each year by our members to promote their own American Flowers Week efforts.
Jenny has also designed four botanical couture looks over the years. She’s not a florist or a flower farmer, but she’s so intimately connected to the goals and values of American Flowers Week that her creativity has prompted her “floral fashionista” to conceptualize, fabricate, style, and photograph a range of wearable looks – inspired by her love of local florals.
For American Flowers Week 2025, we invited Jenny to be our featured artist. And of course, she had ideas! The project is so expansive that it’s still in progress, but Jenny joined Debra Prinzing recently to talk about it and give us a sneak peek! The project involves 50 original watercolors of state-by-state quilt blocks, recaptured into 8-by-8-inch paintings. Here’s a bit more:
AFW: Have you painted in watercolor much, Jenny?
JD: It’s always been my favorite medium to work with, just because in most of my other design work everything is so precise. Watercolor gives me a chance to let things flow more organically.
AFW: What type of watercolor paint are you using?
JD: I was using Winsor & Newton, but I also have a travel set of koi watercolors from Sakura. I’ve been watercoloring outside when my husband and son do archery in the evenings. I also need this travel set of watercolors because my son, Dylan, has baseball practice and Ninja practice. I’ve got to take him everywhere, so the painting goes with me!
AFW: How are you able to make the paintings resemble fabric quilt squares?
JD: I noticed that a lot of quilters like to use fabric that almost has a watercolor feel to it, so I’ve added variations to some of the pieces, allowing different tones to come through.
AFW: Tell us about your path as an artist!
JD: I’ve always been creative since I was little. My mom has always been creative and she has painted with watercolors; my grandma used to make quilts and do paintings.
AFW: Did you study art in college?
JD: I went to Fresno State University to become an environmental toxicologist. I love biology. I love bugs and animals. What I intended to do as a career path was study plants, insects, animals to determine if those species are safe or endangered. But, I was still doodling and doing more art in my classes than actually paying attention to the subject. So I changed to an emphasis in graphic design because it seemed that’s where art was going. I went more digital in my design career. Lately, I’ve gravited to working with people who love flowers; who love plants, so it’s kind of my full circle moment as a creative.
AWF: Tell us how you came up with the 50 States Quilt Square Project for American Flowers Week.
JD: I love challenges! I was thinking of traditional Americana; something that might be considered old-timey, but still carries through to today. My brain just started doing tumbleweeds and I thought, “We’ve done state flowers. I know there are state animals. I wonder if there are state quilt blocks?” I did some research and discovered that – yes – there are state quilt blocks. There are some variations, but I actually found a book from the 1970s, “The United States Patchwork Pattern Book — 50 Quilt Blocks for 50 States.”
AFW: What do you know about the story of each quilt?
JD: Some are an obvious reference to the state. For example, New Mexico has more of a Santa Fe look and Texas has a big star. For other quilt squares, I haven’t been able to find any story about the origins of a design. I’m hoping somebody who sees our project will tell us more stories after reading about it!
AFW: How are you transforming photographs of vintage quilt pieces into watercolor art?
JD: I’m trying to stay as true to each state as I can. I’ve been scanning the image of each quilt piece and then converting it to an 8-inch square (and there are some round patches). Once I print it onto paper, I put the design on my lightboard and I lightly trace the pattern. Then, I paint the watercolors freehand.
AFW: We can’t wait to see all 50 of these paintings assembled together as a quilt!
JD: It’s so refreshing to be able to sit down and say, “What state am I going to visit today?!”
AFW: By the way, Jenny, you have created four American Flowers Week botanical couture looks. We’re guessing you don’t have time to design a floral fashion this year, what with all the painting you’ve been doing!
JD: I have a surprise for you, because I’m planning something! The dress I created last year looked like it had floral embroidery, so this year, I want to create a plaid skirt with flowers in the squares where the plaid intersects. And the model will wear a denim jacket with a floral quilt square on the back.
