Artist Bio

Bio in short…

Iris Sullivan Daire is an installation artist, wielding natural dyes to create colorful worlds that provoke thought and encourage deeper connection to nature.

Where I come from…

I grew up in the midwest in a small farm town, dividing my time between ranging around the countryside and learning all sorts of practical skills from the awesome women in my family. I started weaving at the age of seven, which eventually led to earning a BFA in Fiber Arts with a focus on natural dyes from the University of Oregon in 1996.

After graduation my husband and I moved to Astoria so that I could teach fiber arts classes at the local college. During those early years on the Oregon Coast we started our family, I continued to study and explore natural dyes, and the first incarnation of Dream Bird Studio was born.

2006-2013 was fully engaged with two enormous tasks, homeschooling our two boys, and using some of my other Farm Wife skills, namely organizing, collaborating, baking, and cooking, as they applied to the start-up of Blue Scorcher Bakery Café, which is a worker owned business providing organic handmade food to our community.

Dream Bird Studio rose from the ashes during my recovery from breast cancering treatments in 2014. That experience, and its aftermath, continue to bring many challenges and gifts, a return to immersing myself in art being one such gift.

My work continues to evolve and change as I do. A constant is a fierce commitment to embodying Nurture Culture - namely that which supports care of the Earth, and all of the beings that live here, including plants animals and the amazing diversity of humans.