Silken Aspirations

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Silken Aspirations Original hand-painted silk paintings and scarves by Melissa Freeman — a global health physician who has painted across 7 countries for 30 years.

Commissions open.

Shouldn’t have started this new project. Dangerous fumes from excess creativity and endorphin highs accelerating heighte...
08/08/2026

Shouldn’t have started this new project. Dangerous fumes from excess creativity and endorphin highs accelerating heightened feelings for days after. Do not recommend going down this path unless you want dangerous levels of dopamine to dominate…

Silk handpainted caftan in progress…

There's a town in Russia called Suslov — the kind of place where the church domes catch the last light and everything lo...
06/30/2026

There's a town in Russia called Suslov — the kind of place where the church domes catch the last light and everything looks like it's been waiting a hundred years for you to arrive.
I found this watercolor there, bought straight from the artist's hands. No gallery, no middleman. Just a conversation, a transaction I'll never forget, and a piece of someone's sky that now lives on my wall.
I think that's the quiet magic of collecting — a painting isn't only the image. It's where you were standing when it found you.
So tell me: what's a piece in your home you'll never part with — and how did you come to it? 👇 (Bonus points if there's a story.)

Six days in Burgundy for a silk workshop — and the country around it. We used leaves to print their patterns on silk and...
06/06/2026

Six days in Burgundy for a silk workshop — and the country around it. We used leaves to print their patterns on silk and hung dye to dry, but the week also took us to Cluny Abbey, to a village art gallery, and a picnic on the way home.

I come to Burgundy each year to assist with these workshops, and it's this combination — the craft and the place — that makes the week unforgettable.

We're planning retreats back here in 2027. If a week like this sounds like your kind of thing, keep an eye out — details will come later this year. 🌿

silkenaspirations.com

What a whirlwind! Susan Lazear brought her group to for an immersive class on painting silk in order to incorporate th...
06/02/2026

What a whirlwind! Susan Lazear brought her group to for an immersive class on painting silk in order to incorporate the pieces into fashion design. We painted, did some shibori and botanical printing and took in some of the local artisans and markets, mixing shopping and eating and creating beatifyl designs in 6 action packed days. We miss you already and can’t wait to see the final creations! we hope you come back next year!

Nadja gave me a corner of her boutique to set up shop. Here is my little display for workshop participants to browse. it...
05/27/2026

Nadja gave me a corner of her boutique to set up shop. Here is my little display for workshop participants to browse. it was fun to think about how to display a few pieces I could fit in my suitcase.

I’m at Nadja’s this week helping prep for the workshop tomorrow in Burgundy France. We have been preparing goodie bask...
05/25/2026

I’m at Nadja’s this week helping prep for the workshop tomorrow in Burgundy France. We have been preparing goodie baskets and some amazing food in the kitchen. can’t wait to meet the students this year!

Three years ago I made this in a chateau in Burgundy.Three discrete layers of silk on canvas. The bottom is pure dye, no...
05/22/2026

Three years ago I made this in a chateau in Burgundy.

Three discrete layers of silk on canvas. The bottom is pure dye, no resist — just color soaking into the silk. The middle is cliffs, height and danger. The top is a tree, drawn in gutta and filled with color. Stacked together they make one image, but in different light the layers shift.

It spent April hanging in Washington. It came home last week.

Tomorrow I fly back to the same chateau.
Full circle.

silkenaspirations.com

05/20/2026

Episode 4.

One handkerchief. Folded, bound, dyed, unwrapped.
The pattern only exists at the end.

All 63 were given away before I left Nigeria.
..The reels are the only record.

Hand-dyed silk scarves available at silkenaspirations.com.

05/07/2026

Shibori Reveal Series — Episode 3 🎬 Before I left my post in Nigeria, I made 63 handkerchiefs. About half of them I dyed using free-form shibori — binding, dipping, waiting. The other half I made with salt techniques, stop-flow experiments, whatever the silk and I were working out that week. I gave all 63 away to colleagues before we moved. These reels are the only record I have of them. Free-form shibori. I bind, dip, wait. The silk decides what shape the colour takes. What do you see in this one? 🔗 Link in bio · silkenaspirations.com — for available paintings, scarves, and commissions

05/07/2026

Shibori Reveal Series — Episode 3 🎬 Before I left my post in Nigeria, I made 63 handkerchiefs. About half of them I dyed using free-form shibori — binding, dipping, waiting. The other half I made with salt techniques, stop-flow experiments, whatever the silk and I were working out that week. I gave all 63 away to colleagues before we moved. These reels are the only record I have of them. Free-form shibori. I bind, dip, wait. The silk decides what shape the colour takes. What do you see in this one? 🔗 Link in bio · silkenaspirations.com — for available paintings, scarves, and commissions

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