Diana
and Joe Kipfer moved
to Liberty Hill in 1996 when their son was born. They both thought
this old building would be the perfect community setting for an art school,
gallery, and jewelry studio. Diana and Joe had restored several homes
in Austin and in August, 2001, they purchased the oldest
building in Liberty Hill and began restoration. With
the help of many good friends (especially Hal, Caroleen, Russ, and John)
and their son, Joey, and his friend, Mick, they were able to complete
the work on the gallery area in the fall of 2004 and formally opened
Sweet Liberty Creations on December 4, 2004.
 
Diana grew up in San Antonio, Texas with
her mother and father, Jane and Russel Matthews, and brother and sister,
Roger and Nan. Jane Matthews, is an artist who sold her work on the
River Walk, taught art classes at Hemisphere World Fair, and had her
own art studio/school in Alamo Heights across from Cambridge Elementary.
Diana joined in all the
art classes her mother taught and learned how to draw, paint, sculpt,
make pottery, and so on. In the early 60's Diana found her love of metal
and began making brass and silver jewelry with African trade beads. In
the 1970's she learned traditional silversmith techniques from her high
school art teacher, John Adams, and later sold silver jewelry on the
Drag, an outdoor market on 23rd Street in Austin, Texas. She attended
the University of Texas in Austin and graduated with a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Advertising. Even though Diana was busy with her career as
a business owner of a graphic design studio for 10 years and
Creative Director and Brand Manager for 13 years at a corporation in
Austin, she kept creating jewelry. In the 1980-90s, she did commissions
and sold her jewelry at Celebrations in Hyde Park and Aloka Gallery.
In 2004, it was time to leave the corporate world and return to the metal
and art world as a full-time artist, metalsmith, teacher, and business
owner.
Since 2004, Diana and some of the
artists featured in the gallery teach classes and work shops
in acrylic painting, sculpting, jewelry making, watercolors, and so on.
See the art classes link for
current offerings and www.dianakipfer.com for
more information about Diana, her jewelry, and jewelry classes.
Joe grew up in Harlingen, Texas and became
a remodeling contractor in the mid-70s after leaving the world of music
education and performances with the Corpus Christi symphony and the Nash
Hernandez Band in Austin. Diana and Joe are responsible for bringing
international music to Liberty Hill with the 2004 performance workshop
by Paul
Taylor from Australia and in 2005 a performance by the Inside
Out Steelband with
a calypso, soca, somba, reggae and latin flair.
  
Joe's talents as a remodeling contractor
helped keep the dream of many of the building's previous tenants alive.
The building was originally built by the Stubblefield family around 1870
and served as their residence upstairs and a dry good store downstairs.
Another former resident was sculptor Mel Fowler. In the mid 1970's,
Mel took it upon himself to restore the building, research the history,
and acquire a historical marker for the structure. He lived upstairs,
while the downstairs area served as his gallery and studio. In the bicentennial
year, Mel Fowler was responsible for bringing sculptors from France,
Japan, Germany, Italy, Canada, Poland, and the United States to Liberty
Hill, where they completed 28 sculptures for a sculpture park. In 1987,
the Liberty
Hill International Sculpture Park was
dedicated by Texas First Lady Rita Clements and it was relocated from
downtown Liberty Hill to the local High School campus.
Help keep art and music alive in Liberty
Hill by supporting local art!
Diana Kipfer
Sweet Liberty Creations
1000 Loop 332 / PO Box 2023
Liberty Hill, Texas 78642
512-778-5657
sweetlibertycreations@earthlink.net
Store Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.
All calls will be returned by the next business day.
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