helvey at work
I discovered Ashley Helvey one day looking through blogs of artists. I followed some link somewhere along the way, and discovered her blog. I was immediately taken by her aesthetic: simple, beautiful, useful, tied to nature. Her pictures of life and food and other peoples’ homes are an inpsiration to me, and I can’t wait to get a real kitchen so I can try out some of her food ideas. Her textiles are amazing, and so is she.
BEGIN INTERVIEW!
They say environment is mind, and mind is environment. How is your environment and how is your mind? Where do you live? Describe your home. How you feel when you’re there? What are some of your favorite ways to spend your time at home? Is there anything you don’t like about your home? What would you change? What is the most important thing about it that makes it feel like home?
In regards to environment is mind and mind is environment I am constantly practicing to keep my mind clear of senseless chatter and negativity and in the same sense I am always working to keep my home free of clutter. I live in a small studio apartment with my boyfriend in an old Scandinavian neighborhood in Seattle. When we moved in we kind of looked at everything we had and evaluated its usefulness and whether or not we really needed it. I am very inspired by Japanese lifestyle magazines and love the idea of only having meaningful, useful items in my home. I also think it’s important not to become too attached to things and like moving for this reason- having garage sales and giving things away makes me feel liberated in a certain way. My favorite ways to spend time at home are cooking dinner and soaking in the bathtub. The things that make it feel most like home are our kitchen table and our bed and fresh flowers we pick on our night walks.
Many people struggle to create and live at the same time. How do you keep yourself fed, clothed, and housed? Does this come easily to you?
I am very fortunate to have a job I love that allows me time to create. I am working as a stylist for Totokaelo as well as doing freelance projects on the side. Eventually I would like to only be doing my art, but I am still enjoying being part of the fashion world and meeting artists and designers to collaborate with. I think it does come easily to me because I know what I like to do. I am a firm believer that you can create any reality you want for yourself if you focus on it.
What motivates you to create art? Do you have a philosophy from which you operate in your art practice? Does this philosophy extend into your everyday life? If so, how?
I am basically motivated to change myself and it is through my work that I meditate on doing so. From this perspective it definitely carries over into everyday life in the sense that it is my everyday actions/reactions I am trying to change. Like being more patient, accepting and less negative.
What is your process of creating a new piece?
A new piece comes out of whatever issue I am working through at the time. Right now I am working on an installation for a show in Portland called “Clear Light” which is a concept I have been working on for a while. It’s considered to be a primordial state of mind, which is not obscured by any negative emotions. The process of layering wool, adding hot water, and agitating it by rolling it back and forth is very meditative, so it naturally lends itself to self reflection.
You often post about food on your blog, and it looks amazing. What is your food inspiration? How do you like to prepare and eat food?
Yes, I love food- mostly simple food that requires five or less ingredients. I am not a fan of recipes that call for exotic ingredients or fancy equipment. I like to keep it simple. My staples (that I always have) are: spinach, lettuce, green onion, avocado, garlic, lemon, quinoa, feta, parmesan, dill, Regina olive oil, some type of green (chard, collards, broccoli, etc.) and root veggies. From these you can make anything. My new favorite recipe that was inspired by an article about umami is sautéed broccolini with shitake mushrooms, sliced garlic, squirt of one lemon, a spoonful of soy sauce, topped with tons of grated parmesan cheese.
What is a normal day for you like? (When do you wake up? What do you eat for breakfast? What do you do? Who do you see?)
Wake up at 8:00, meditate for 15 minutes, turn on hot water for coffee, make breakfast which is always one of two things: Greek yogurt with fruit/raw almonds/cinnamon or Malt-o-Meal with an egg and avocado, send emails, pack lunch (usually a big salad with some type of protein in it), go to work, come home, chillax, cook dinner, go for a long walk.
Describe your creative practice. How do you like to work? How often and under what circumstances do you like to work?
Ideally I try to work everyday, even if it’s for a little bit. For me the practice is more of my work rather than the finished piece. This approach is definitely romantic as some days I can’t fit it into my schedule! Deadlines are definitely helpful for finishing projects and showing work.
How do you promote your art practice, if at all?
I teach workshops through different institutions to share the process and techniques of felt making because I feel like it’s becoming more relevant these days. I also try to collaborate with other artists and participate in events to bring a new awareness and different element to my work.
What is your idea of success? Are you striving for anything in particular?
Success to me is happiness. Being able to be happy in every moment despite the circumstances.
What do you think about the art world?
I don’t really pay attention to the art world outside of what friends are doing and what I see on the Internet.
What is something(s) you have learned that has a great impact on your life and/or how you operate?
Learning about the power of your mind and trusting that most things will take care of themselves.
Who or what are your influences? Can you think or some influences that have led you to this point? Events, other artists, books, movies, teachers, friends, shows, etc.?
There are so many great textile artists from the 70’s that have majorly influenced my work like Sheila Hicks and Magdelena Abakanowicz. I just watched a really inspiring documentary called Sheep is Life about the story of a flock of Navajo Churro sheep in New Mexico, which is the primary fiber I work with. I also had an amazing opportunity to meet Claudy Jongstra, a Dutch felter whose work is very similar to mine a few years ago. She is the most humble, down–to-earth person, something that I found very refreshing.
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