A dangerous, steep portion of lower German Alley that was hazardous to walkers and motorists for weeks after the road was cut up to provide gas services to a new home was repaired this past week. But it will take months for prominent Eureka Springs artist Diana Harvey to recover from a serious fall on loose gravel on the road. Diana was scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday, April 23.
“I slid on the gravel that was left in the road near the construction site,” Diana wrote in an email this past week. “It’s a rather thorough break, fibula, tibia and a chip and crack up the back. I’m at home waiting for the swelling to go down, and in a lot of pain because I am reactive to most painkillers. Next Tuesday is surgery for plates, pins, and then off it for six weeks. The doctor is working on what he can do for me, but I expect another six to eight weeks of significant pain.”
Harvey’s husband, Bob, was with her when she fell. He also fell and the couple slid down the very steep incline with Bob trying to catch Diana to prevent her sliding farther down the hill. Diana was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Diana said she was willing to share her story, especially if it may help make Eureka’s streets any safer.
The Harveys were not the first people to fall on that area of lower German Alley where the street was dug up by a Black Hills Energy contractor to provide gas service to a new home. Susie Allen, who operates the Rose of Sharon Cottage, a nightly tourist lodging establishment at the end of German Alley where it connects with Cliff St., fell on the loose gravel and, while she wasn’t seriously injured, she was concerned with the safety of her guests and others either walking or driving up or down the street.
She asked the city to stop putting gravel in the holes because vehicles going up or down the streets were spinning the gravel everywhere on the road, then making it treacherous, like walking on ice, to people walking up or down the street. And after the holes were dug out by traffic, people’s vehicles were being damaged when they bottomed out on the ruts.
Eureka Springs Public Works Director Dwayne Allen said the road cut on German Alley was done by Black Hills Energy without a permit. He said the Black Hills Energy crew postponed the repair and didn’t give him a set time.
“Black Hills has hired a sub-contractor for several jobs in this area, and they are now aware of our requirements,” he said.
Diana is one of the more well regarded artists in the region. She has won numerous awards and been featured in prominent galleries across the country. Judy Carpenter, a jeweler/metalsmith who works at Zark’s Gallery downtown, described Diana’s current work as “realism with a quiet emotional response. When you look at it, you feel quiet and comforted. She used to be quite famous for her portraits. She was an exquisite portrait artist.”
Diana often paints birds and is very fond of cats.
“She is very responsive to Turpentine Creek and has done a lot of work to help them with publicity and finances,” Judy said.
Diana studied for two years in the Prado Museum in Madrid, then did a degree in archaeology back in the U.S. She had planned to work in museums until she discovered the bliss of creating art.
With the encouragement of her artist husband, Bob Z. Harvey, she plunged into studio art. Early success cemented her determination to become an artist, and 30 productive years have affirmed it. Her lyric images reflect her varied interests in myth, dream, poetry, history, and art.
Intaglio printmaking was Diana’s first focus, and her etchings are in thousands of private, public, and corporate collections in this country, Europe, and Asia. Her work has been featured in publications including Graphics (cover), Journal of the Print World, Art Business News, Artists of the Rockies, and Art Gallery Magazine.