DEANIE FRENCH
Name and any story behind how you got it…
Saima after my Finnish mother, Deane after my father’s sister and aunt. (They called her Tantine.) Deanie is a family nickname. Hancock was my maiden name, French, acquired by marriage.
Your family…
My father was a figurative sculptor, my mother, a kindergarten teacher and wise caretaker of many.
My ex-husband and I adopted two Korean babies, Anna Song and Jonathan Joon, father of Seoul and McEwan.
Nima is my partner and reason for moving to Nashville.
Birthday
January 16, 1947
Art & Soul Member since…
Introduced to A&S in the early ’90s
A favorite Art & Soul memory?
Right now: Seeing dear friends and family on Zoom joining
with my A&S family in the studio for my gallery talk.
Last TV show you binge-watched?A French Village
Most recent read… Updike’s The Beauty of the Lilies
Movie you love… Il Postino
Guilty pleasure… Chocolate
Favorite vacation… Almost anywhere!! (OK, Italy, Crete, Finland, etc)
Favorite holiday… Thanksgiving
Favorite food… See above
Something you’d like to learn in the next year… Finnish. Haha
Here are the keys to a time machine. When are you going to first? Early Renaissance France or Italy ... for the music
What makes you laugh? Dogs
What superpower would you like to have? To understand all the languages ever spoken.
From Proust’s Questionnaire:
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Walking along a beach just at water’s edge, watching my grandsons
What is your greatest fear? Authoritarianism. That the world will be too toxic for my grandsons to live safely.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Projections
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Ditto
Which living person do you most admire? Sadguru
What is your motto? Everything passes, silence remains.