Artist Statement:
I am intrigued in the way textiles have a long established place in our daily lives yet are easily manipulated in expressive forms. It challenges and questions our preconceived notions about its use, becoming a vehicle for concept explorations.
I choose paths of those explorations through various surface design techniques including printing, dying, painting, stitching, sculpting and deconstruction. Ultimately my investigations are a way to dissect, document and celebrate humanity while we navigate rapidly changing cultural identities. My work seeks to organize scattered thoughts or experiments and translate them into tangible experiences that echo back with new ideas. The exchange between the surface of the textile and methods I use to alter it become a conversation in materials that compels me to experiment further.
While some of my work may have a clear narrative, I am only restricted by the rules I create for myself. I resolve to see no more than the path that is immediately in front of me, allowing concepts to shift as they evolve.
My current work examines graffiti culture, sense of place and the intersection of wanting to remain both anonymous and feel acknowledged.
Current Gallery Representation:
Art Spirit Gallery (Coeur d’Alene, ID) - May 2021
Group Exhibitions:
2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 - Terrain - Spokane, WA.
2011, 2012 - River Ridge Association of Fine Arts - Spokane, WA.
2011 - “Unmentionable Things” Kolva-Sullivan Gallery - Spokane, WA.
2012, 2013 - Collective Visions Gallery - Bremerton, WA.
2015 - Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center - Post Falls, ID.
2016, 2017, 2018 - "La Resistance Art Collective" Object Space - Spokane, WA.
2018 - Terrain’s 10 Year Anniversary Invitational - Terrain Gallery - Spokane, WA.
2018 - Hatch Gallery - Spokane Valley, WA.
Solo Exhibitions:
2017 - Liberty Gallery - Spokane, WA.
2019 - “Excavate: Body, Land, Space, Ocean” Kolva-Sullivan Gallery - Spokane, WA.
2020 - "AS2" The Wonder Building - Spokane, WA.
2021 - Pavilion Art Space at Riverfront Park, Spokane, WA.
2023 - The Gallery at Entropy - Spokane, WA.
Publications:
“The Show Must Go Online” by Audrey Duff-Overstreet
The Spokesman Review. March 2019
“Helen Parsons Shapes the Fabric of Her Life” by Marilee Hudon
Art Chowder Magazine. Issue #6. July/August 2018
“Tactile Artist - Helen Parsons” by Jennifer LaRue
Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Living Magazine - February 2018
Cover Art (Exit Strategies 2) - Trestle Creek Review
North Idaho College’s Annual Publication #39. 2023
“Fabracadabra”
The Inlander. September 2022
“E-Books” (to accompany TV episodes 3, 7, 10)
Quilting Arts TV Website. July 2022
Select Juries:
Juror - Emerge’s 8th Annual Pop Up Show - Coeur d’Alene, ID. - July 2021
Juror - Terrain 14 - Spokane, WA. - October 2023
Selection Committee - Spokane Arts Awards - Spokane, WA. - October 2023
Academia:
Guest Speaker - Emerge Incubator Series
Human Rights Education Institute - Coeur d’Alene, ID. - May 2023
Visiting Artist/Critic - Art and Design Department
Whitworth University - Spokane, WA. - January 2023
Television Appearances:
Quilting Arts TV Series 2900 - episode 3, episode 7, episode 10
July 2022
Public Art Work:
“Urban Landmark - Ice Machine”
City of Spokane Portable Works Permanent Collection for the Spokane Public Library
Spokane, WA. - May 2021
“Urban Landmark - Dumpster”
Whitworth University’s Permanent Collection
Spokane, WA. - October 2022