March 5: Faith and Fabric on Art and Scroll Studio

by Shelley Werner

Rabbi Mark Glickman and artist Diane Fredgant on Judaic Coverings

(AJNews) – On Wednesday March 5, 2025 Art and Scroll Studio and the American Guild of Judaic Art welcome Rabbi Mark Glickman as he explains the significance behind Judaic coverings, and artist Diane Fredgant who delves into the intersection of faith and creativity through her silk paintings. Her work as an artist represents a wide range of Jewish beliefs, from Kabbalistic ideas to Torah commandments. She specializes in custom works of functional art, combining custom designs and spirituality with millennia of Jewish tradition.

Rabbi Mark Glickman is spiritual leader of Temple B’nai Tikvah in Calgary and has both a keen appreciation for Judaic art and expertise in the interpretation of Torah texts. Rabbi Glickman will share his deep understanding of Judaic coverings, focusing on the talit, challah and torah covers.

Calgary’s Temple B’nai Tikvah welcomed Rabbi Mark S. Glickman as their Rabbi in July 2016. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in suburban Chicago, Rabbi Glickman graduated cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis in 1985. He received his rabbinical ordination from Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1990. His first book Sacred Treasure: The Cairo Genizah (Jewish Lights Publishing) was published in 2011. His second book Stolen Words: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books (Jewish Publication Society) was released in 2016.

Portland based artist Diane Fredgant’s work as a silk artist represents a wide range of Jewish beliefs, from Kabbalistic ideas to Torah commandments. For the last 25 years she has specialized in custom works satisfying each customer’s desires and spirituality to create chuppahs, challah covers, and tallitot, among other forms. Her recent work focuses on the Modern Mishkan installation: an artistically interactive, educational, and spiritual experience designed to honor the Mishkan of the Torah and the key commandments that regulate Jewish life.

At age 23, she began her career as a stone and clay sculptor. Making use of her advertising degree, she worked in Los Angeles as a print production manager, where she developed her eye for detail and color. After moving to Albuquerque, she redefined her artistic path by learning the art of silk painting and is still fascinated by the medium and learning new techniques 25 years later. Silk’s unique qualities make it perfect for the wearable, practical art that Diane favors. Pulling inspiration from Jewish texts, the natural world, and conversation, she mixes holiness and beauty in her art. Diane strives to capture each person’s unique relationship with the divine. She is honored to be able to share her art with those around her. Diane is a past president of ORA Northwest Jewish Artists and is a member of the American Guild of Judaic Art.

In creating her custom work she says “It begins with a conversation.” People engage her to create designs for the milestones in their lives. Often she is asked to create a tallit (prayer shawl) for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, but people also commission her to make other heirlooms, like the chuppah (canopy) for a wedding.

After someone commissions her, Diane asks them questions and listens until they trust her and open up. The moment they let her in, she can see what they see. Then she captures their vision on fabric to create a design that is uniquely significant to them.

Diane’s ability to change her perspective and see through her clients’ eyes enables her to see past the surface. She sees the inner essence of her clients, and that is what sparks her creativity on these projects. For her own art endeavors, the creativity comes from inside her and since Diane has so often seen inside others, she can pierce the veil and find the artistic vision from within.

Diane’s special project is a “Modern Mishkan.” The Torah speaks of a portable holy space called the Mishkan. G-d dwelled in the rooms, and priests performed their sacred tasks between the walls. In biblical times, we offered G-d sacrifices. Today, we offer prayer.

Ten years ago, a vision came to her, and with it a calling: I would build a modern version of the Mishkan. “Imagine walking into the Torah, an eight-foot-tall scroll embracing you, covered with the 613 Mitzvot in English on the outside and Hebrew on the inside. The Modern Mishkan connects art and faith, which I have strived to achieve my whole career.”

After silk painting for 25 years, silk still amazes her. She says she is lucky she gets to help people refine and define their spirituality and then find the right shapes and colours to capture elements of their relationship to Judaism. A lengthy stint as a print production manager at an advertising firm heightened her innate attention to detail and sense of color. But what she feels best about is that she creates every piece with care and love.” I get to work on things that are meaningful to my clients, and that adds meaning to my life.”

Faith and Fabric will be the featured show on Wednesday March 5 2025, 7:00 pm MST on Art and Scroll Studio, a live zoom series that celebrates the makers and creators of Judaic art.

To view short preview:  https://bit.ly/FaithandFabricPreview

To register for free tickets: https://bit.ly/FaithandFabricTickets