Recently, I talked with silk artist Diane Fredgant about art and creativity. In our conversation, I learned that Diane didn’t start as a fabric artist, nor did she seek to become a silk artist. It was as if the medium found her.

Diane began her creative endeavors as a sculptor, working in stone and wood. She also earned a living in the healing arts. Over twenty years ago, she ran a massage studio in Albuquerque, NM. She joined a drum circle that was run by a woman who, in addition to being a musician, made hand painted silk. Diane was so taken by the pieces hanging in the woman’s studio that she decided to commission her to make a wall hanging for her business. 

When the silk artist came to Diane’s massage studio, she said, “Usually I get what I’m supposed to make for someone, but what I’m getting from you is that you’re going to make this yourself.” 

At first Diane just laughed. But then she took workshops and learned how to paint silk herself. “It was magic,” Diane said.

She still has the wall hanging she made all those years ago, and she still has a passion for working with silk.

Has something like this happened to you? Have you ever felt as if an art form called to you when you least expected it?