East Haven resident Diane Villano has been retired for two years, but she is still involved in her church, community, and crafts. Diane recalls a quote she once saw which inspired her to become more involved at Christ & the Epiphany Church in town.

“The world is run by those who show up.”

Diane has certainly shown up to her church-related responsibilities by being on the Christ & the Epiphany Church’s Communications Committee, working at its Good Shepherd Thrift Store, and being an acolyte and an usher.

Diane wants everybody to know that the Good Shepherd Thrift Store is currently open two days a week: on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. She says the church will be hosting its “Blessing of the Animals” community fundraiser on the East Haven Town Green on Sunday, Oct. 6 from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

“We’ll be collecting donations to benefit the East Haven Animal Shelter,” Diane says. “I’m also a delegate this year to the Annual Episcopal State Convention.”

In regards to why she the joined the administrative side of the church, Diane says that she likes “to know what happens behind the scenes.”

“I'm the person that wants to go behind the curtain and see what's going on there,” says Diane.

Diane is also in charge of placing messages on the church’s sidewalk located on the corner of Park Place and Main Street, announcing a new message to the public each week. At 70 characters, it could be something either celebratory or seasonal.

“The last couple of weeks had to do with the Olympics. This week I went seasonal. One is, ‘Need a lifeguard? Ours walk on water.’ And on the other side is, ‘Our lifeguard also saves souls,’” she says. “We actually had a wedding proposal last year. It was something like, ‘Marie, will you marry me? [signed] Eric.’ And the week after that, all I put was, ‘She said yes.’”

Diane likes to be current in her messages, having previously put up a memorial notice for late State Police Trooper Aaron Pelletier, who passed away in May of this year.

Whether with words or art, being visual is a major part of Diane’s life as the founder of Foxon River Designs, where she sells creativity upcycled projects made up of vintage items.

“It's put to use in a different way than what was manufactured for,” she explains. “Right now on my workbench, I am working on vintage board games. I cut the board up, for instance, Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, chess, checkers…I’m now cutting up the boards into four-inch squares and turning them into coasters. I put a waterproof finish on them, and I back them with cork. I set them and sell them in sets of four in a presentation gift box.”

Diane often collects materials at flea markets in New England, and she enjoys scheduling vacations around these trips. She’s collected materials in Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and also has an app on her phone notifying her of local tag sales in the area.

Diane says that some of her most popular board-game-based projects have been notebooks with covers made from deed cards from Monopoly, adding that “everyone's always after Boardwalk and Park Place.”

Diane is looking forward to selling some of her recent projects next month, first at the Parmelee Farms Artisan Market in Killingworth and then at the annual SMart Fest in Branford.

Art has been a longtime fixture in Diane’s life. She earned her master’s degree in art education from Southern Connecticut State University and would use her vacation time from work to travel the county and teach art classes.

“I taught polymer clay and jewelry construction,” she says. “I taught at mostly conventions. One was Bead and Button in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which was the largest wholesale bead convention in the world. I also work with a lot of weaving conventions, where I would show the weavers how to create polymer clay buttons to go with their handwoven fabrics.”

Now retired for two years, Diane does not have a bucket list, but she says that she’s “enjoying myself and what I'm doing now and getting more involved with the community, which is terrific.”

Diane’s work can be viewed for purchase at: www.etsy.com/shop/FoxonRiverRecreative.