Before Amy Harms creates a final art piece, she first has to destroy it. For most artists, this would be a terrifying concept. “It’s very freeing,” she says. “When I cut apart my paintings, I really embrace the hundreds of different strips. Playing with the patterns, changing the form and tune of the artwork into a new cadence and then weaving it all together into a final evolved piece of work.”
In addition to art paper, Amy often incorporates vinyl records and textiles into her designs, but none of her weaves are in any particular pattern. “Things emerge organically during the weaving process that you wouldn't have seen just in my normal paintings,” she says. “So, I really feel like I can better express myself through weaving.”
As a talented piano player with a music degree from Missouri State University, rhythm and vibrations are a big part of Amy’s process. “I feel like my brain gravitates towards music because that’s how my artistic journey started,” she says. “When I'm painting, I'll see a score or lines of a staff or strings of a guitar or a piano. In my head, I feel music when I look at my work and I try to express that.”
Most of her paper weaves are commission-based, and she enjoys incorporating materials and images that are meaningful to her clients. “I’ve been seeing a trend of clients who order commissions around the timing of sentimental landmarks or occasions,” says Amy. “For example, for a piece I made for a client’s father for a 70th birthday surprise gift, I incorporated several of his favorite albums over the decades of his life. Another is a commission I’m working on now that’s for a couple celebrating the memory of their father/father-in-law by having me weave in pieces of his favorite Pink Floyd albums.
“This is what my goal is with my work - to not just create a piece of artwork that looks ‘pretty’ in their space - but to make a deeply personal piece of art that is actually a family heirloom to pass on for generations.”
She also often collaborates with interior designers to make her art fit harmoniously into a specific space in terms of color, size, and design. Other times, she’s given full artistic freedom, which she also enjoys.
In addition to the inventory in her home studio, Amy showcases her work at gallery shows and in art crawls. At Nashville Jam Session at Nashville International Airport, she has miniature weaves as well as vinyl record jewelry on display. “The store is owned by a local family, and they are musicians themselves,” she says. “They are really supportive of local artists.”
Amy and her family - husband Ryan, 14-year-old daughter Hailey, and two rescue dogs, Dale and Cookie - love living in Brentwood. “It’s so pretty here, such a friendly community and just a great lifestyle," she says.
To see Amy’s unique paper weaving creations, check out her Instagram page, and to schedule a commission, visit her website. She would love to weave a special design just for you.
@amyharms.art.studio
AmyHarms.com
"I’ve been seeing a trend of clients who order commissions around the timing of sentimental landmarks or occasions."
"When I cut apart my paintings, I really embrace the hundreds of different strips. Playing with the patterns, changing the form and tune of the artwork into a new cadence and then weaving it all together into a final evolved piece of work.”