Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Diane Goldie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Diane, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I wasn’t allowed to do art at school despite it being a compulsory subject. Looking back with more empathy at my mother’s decision to insist to the head teacher that I was not to attend art class , I realise she was trying to protect me from a life of struggle . She thought computers were the future ( she wasn’t wrong) and thought I’d be wasting my potential by following my clear artistic talents that were making themselves known. After school I ended up going to a the local technical college to study graphic design ( with the support of my step dad ) as this was seen as an art path that would lead to a guaranteed job. The trouble was, I was hopeless at being neat and ended up studying fine art ( at which I excelled , because I loved it) .
Unfortunately my mother withdrew the funding before I qualified ( this was in fee paying South Africa back in the late 80s ) and so my art career was stymied once more . Fast forward 20 years , I’d returned to the UK , got married and had two children . I’d started up a children’s entertainment / puppetry business that served me well for 25 years . I threw all my creativity into making and performing and grew a loyal following of top notch parents who would welcome me into their homes once a year for their children’s parties . Then menopause hit . My patience evaporated . Then my dear dad died .

As I sat with his body in the morgue , I came face to face with my own mortality and I heard the words : DO it Now! Very clearly . Don’t die with regret .
It was like a switch had been flipped and I stopped my puppetry business and headed directly into my joy … painting and textiles and storytelling , combining the three elements to create unique storytelling hand painted and appliqued robes that told the wearers life story in symbols .

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

During my time as a children’s entertainer, I had had a tarot card reading that said I would meet a very eccentric colourful white haired older woman who would change the course of my life . I didn’t pay it much heed until I was befriended by the American / East Londoner outsider artist Sue Krietzman who literally flipped my life upside down . She asked me to transform an ugly black raincoat into something spectacular, and suffice it to say , I did. From then on I knew I had a special ability to be able to hand paint copies of other artists work and transfer it to robes to create pieces of wearable art . In Sue’s case, she became a walking gallery of her own work translated into fabric . She lit my fire and called me a genius. Having someone really believe in me was all it took .
I became prolific in making robes , I still am .

I’ve since discovered that my family is neurodivergent/ autistic/ adhd and these robes serve as a replacement for small talk. They are visual representations of the inner world of the wearer.

I use my adhd need for visual complexity to combine pattern, colour , texture and sparkle to a high aesthetic . They are very much appreciated by other neurodivergent humans looking for something unique . Every single creation is a one off creation and over the years I’ve created hundreds . I use fabrics across cultures , I aim to represent the cultural rich mix of humanity that is London.
In the past ten years since I took the plunge to fully embrace my passion and to take the risk of it becoming my means of making a living, I’ve managed to create performance robes for world renown musicians such as Jill Scott, Jacob Collier, BlackThought from the Roots , Internet drumming sensation Nandi Bushell and many more .
It’s not easy being soley responsible for paying my own wages and sometimes I hold my breath and pray really hard , but it’s absolutely worth it.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’m aiming to enable people to fully express themselves through their clothing choices, to undermine fashion trends that along with fast fashion is destroying the planet . I’m asking people to reconsider their relationship with their clothing and to challenge the idea of status brands , to see behind the marketing and the artifice and the exploitation at the heart of it all . As an artist /maker I make everything with my own hands and imbue it with my spirit and intentions.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I’m often described as a designer because there is no language really that describes what I do accurately, so people go to the closest description they understand.

A designer preconceives a garment and most often sends it out to be mass produced by an attached industry that has exploitation at its core.

I never preconceive anything I make I describe myself as an artist working with textile as my main medium. Everything is created in a flow state, an empty mind . There are no decisions needed to be made as once I enter that state my hands are instructed to put things together. Sometimes I will make a piece based on the feel of someone or an emotion . Spirituality very much comes into play as I have managed to channel things I could never have known about a client. Every creation is a personal manifestation of the clients inner world . No trend or status label could ever create such an intimate collaboration between the wearer and the maker . Staying small and personal has its ’benefits .

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dianegoldieartist.com
• Instagram: @dianegoldie

Image Credits

Naomi Woddis
Ryan Bater