Jackie Cox

Begin your holiday gift planning by visiting Ellen Diederich’s new card collection, “Samson’s Gift” children’s book, and some of her acrylic and watercolor paintings during the “Art for the Holidays” show Dec. 10th.
The festive fine art show is juried and will include original art from Ellen and 90 professional area artists. It will be held at the Fargo Civic Center, 207 4th Street North, from 10 am until 5 pm. There is no admission.
Ellen has studios in Rancho Mirage, CA and in Fargo, where she lives with her husband Paul. Locally she has exhibited at Pride of Dakota events and participated in the Studio Crawl from its beginning. As a national award-winning painter both in watercolor and acrylic she has also published three books. Her Neo-Impressionistic style is very recognizable and Ellen is known for her beautiful use of color. You may have enjoyed some of her Fargo-Moorhead notecards published by her company, Givinity Press! Ellen particularly loves painting flowers, landscapes, architecture and domesticated animals.
In Ellen’s book “Samson’s Gift”, Samson tells his story of learning the beauty and joy of giving when he chooses to share his warm precious wool with the baby Jesus. The setting is in Jerusalem. There is a star and angels. The sheep are named after biblical characters. It is a perfect Christmas gift!

The gift is in the giving
Ellen can sign a copy of this heartwarming book at Art for the Holidays or you order it online. It is a treasure for young readers, art classrooms, and as a gift for yourself or a friend. It is also available with free shipping until December 10th on her website. Your children can learn to paint Samson in watercolor by watching a free video workshop at givinity.com. Scan the code and enjoy “shop” on her site where you can see her other paintings, cards and books.
Ellen graduated from MSUM with a BA in art education and BFA in fine art. She has exhibited at the Plains Art Museum, Underbrush Gallery, and Rourke Art Museum in the FM area, as well as in Bismarck, Minneapolis, and other cities. In addition to” Samson’s Gift” she has published “Where’s Petunia?” and “Progressive Painting –Your Creative Journey”. She also is a workshop instructor.
You may sign up for Ellen’s “Painting of the Week” blog, where you get a story of a painting and a painting tip each week. Ellen will also inform you of art events and specials. Happy Holidays! Photos provided by Ellen Diederich.