Amy Helfand – It’s all about the Journey

Auteur : Esther | 12-11-2010

This month I will be moving to New York and into a beautiful old apartment building that was constructed in the typical New York Art Deco style – You know, brick façade with casement windows.  Inside we have all hardwood floors, which I love, but also fear damaging them since we will be renting.  Thus, we will be investing in a lot of rugs.  How I would absolutely love to have one of these beautiful rugs designed by Amy Helfand.  This one, called "ragged wandering", particularly struck my fancy.

Ragged Wandering

Brooklyn-based artist Amy Helfand's artwork takes many forms including photography, sculptures, and textiles now including rugs. She has been designing rugs since 2004. Her rug designs depict natural environments and map-like aerial views illustrating the idea of a journey. I love this! Life is a journey after all!

I was able to catch up with this busy artist to learn more about her specific journey.

Blue Ridge Voyage

When I was 16 I discovered photography, first taking a class outside of school, and then at my high school, which had fabulous darkroom facilities. I'm not sure I knew then that I wanted to "be an artist", but once I started I never felt satisfied for long unless I was making something.

How did art lead you to design rugs?
I made my first rug for a show of my work at Wave Hill, a public garden in the Bronx. Somehow, as my work was becoming more graphic, I started thinking about rugs. I'm not sure why, but I think, in part, that I was interested in the tactile quality of the rug, as opposed to the prints I had been making myself

Tangled

My work has always been about landscape, and I usually am investigating some way that people interact with the natural world. I did a body of work on the Appalachian Trail, andsome work inspired by the travels of Lewis and Clark. I look at field guides and maps, and do a lot of my own photography. With this material I generate drawings and tracings and usually scan things into the computer. That's where I compose the image and drop in color. These images are the artwork for the rugs.

Garland

Was it difficult for you to decide to manufacture and then to find a manufacturer whose production practices matched your ethics and/or beliefs?
It wasn't actually that hard. Through my research, I had found GoodWeave (which was known as Rugmark back then). I knew that child labor was an issue in rug production and I absolutely wanted to be on the right side of that. I asked them for a list of GoodWeave certified manufacturers and then I started sending emails. At the time, I didn't know if I would make just one rug or many, but all of the manufacturers I wrote said that they could help out. One, however, said that his colleague was in New York, and asked if I wanted to meet with him. So I did, and he was an extremely generous and knowledgeable person, both about the process of making a rug, and about the rug business in general. And, it turned out that his company made the rugs for a very reputable designer here, so I was assured of quality. I feel very lucky that things were that serendipitous for me.

Van Der Steen

It's hard to pick a favorite, because my interests are always evolving and I tend to like what I'm doing currently best. That said, I think the rug called "Ragged Wandering" is very successful, and one that I still like, many years later. There is something about the color palette (which is more in the blue family), and the composition that works well in that one. I am also personally attached to the idea behind it. It's part of the work I did about the Appalachian Trail. I was going to do a piece about each state the trail runs through, but sort of got stuck in North Carolina. This particular piece was inspired by a song, and some of the elements are taken from photos of musical instruments, as well as from maps and field guides of western North Carolina.

Path Network Spring

How would you describe your personal style?
Generally, whether in fashion or in home décor, it’s casual and laid back. I am a misplaced country girl at heart!

What do you like to do when you have a moment for yourself?
I like to work in my garden, I like to go for long walks (preferably uphill), and I like to sing!

Wild Garner Runner

This summer I got obsessed with knots and rigging, and I have a ways to go in exploring that. Also, I've been working with photographs that I took on a road trip down South. There's a lot of material there, too. In the last year, I've started making some sculpture again (this is more of what I used to do, but put aside when my kids were little). I hope to continue with that, as well. I am interested in taking some of the flat imagery in my 2D work, and imagining it back into 3 dimensions.

Thank you for your time and for sharing your life's path with us. Your rugs are gorgeous!

Her studio is located at the end of Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Please call or email to make an appointment to visit.

www.amyhelfand.com