Happy Spring Day, darling readers. What's better than meeting a new lovely Janeite and try to win one of her cute creations? Read Renee Cohen Diggs's blogpost, welcome her and ... good luck in the giveaway contest. The details are in the post. To enter, use the rafflecopter form below, please.Greetings Lovely Janeites and thank you so much Maria Grazia for inviting me to post in your amazing blog.My first encounter
with Jane Austen was when I read Pride and Prejudice in high school. It wasn’t until years later when I saw the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice that I developed a passion for her novels. At the risk of sounding a bit shallow, Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy may have had a hand in rekindling my interest! Or, was it Captain Wentworth’s proposal letter to Jane Elliot at the end of Persuasion that sealed the deal? Whatever the reason, I began reading her books, and following film adaptations of her novels and one day I realized I wanted more. I wanted to create something visual and more tangible from this experience. I am an artist and a graphic designer and I decided to use my skills to create digital illustrations based on Jane Austen characters. My illustrations are silhouettes influenced by Austen characters depicted in film, however, I wanted to convey more about the time period in my work so details of clothing are reversed in each piece. Quotes are included with the characters. Some were quotes I loved from the very beginning, but I find myself going back to her books looking for pieces of conversation I may have missed. I have even had people email me at my shop 10 Camelia Way to include their favorite quotes in my pieces. 
This process has really led me to see that Jane Austen was a woman who stepped out of the box and out of her "place". She brought focus to the social flaws of her time period and even poked fun at it – lets give a nod to dear Mr. Collins. She dared to write about strong female heroines who were confrontational and brave. They weren’t afraid to give the knight in shining armor a good tongue lashing. Bravo Elizabeth Bennet! Bravo Jane Austen! From the moment I conceptualized the idea of how I wanted to interpret Jane's novels into imagery, I envisioned people with my artwork in their homes enjoying these characters as they had their cup of coffee or tea. As my work has evolved they can enjoy Jane in other areas as well, like adding an Austen-inspired necklace to an outfit, sending a friend a lovely Pemberley note card or using a Jane Austen bookmark as a placeholder.
I would love to giveaway this experience to 2 lucky readers. Since summer is on its way I thought a Mr. Darcy necklace
and an Elizabeth Bennet necklace 
would be in order. Enter the worldwide giveaway by using the form below my post and, remember, the deadline is March 30th.Renee******************************************Renee Cohen Diggs is a Jamaican artist who lives in Florida with her family. You can find her at:Website:
www.diggsdesignstudio.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/diggsdesignstudioTwitter: www.twitter.com/diggsstudioPinterest: www.pinterest.com/diggsstudio
