What’s your story?

I came to fiber arts after other unrelated careers; though unrelated, all that previous work feeds what I do now. I have no arts training, but I value the different ways of thinking and organizing I have brought from other fields. Being able to devise an approach to reach a goal, to critically assess your work, to have a command of the rules so that you can depart from them deliberately rather than in ignorance --- this is relevant in any creative endeavor. And all life is a creative endeavor! I live now in Maine and I soak up the sky, shadows, surf. These inspire my weaving. I don’t try to mimic the sunrise or the sea, but I love working on the loom and recognizing sunrise colors coming at me, and ocean waves emerging and receding.

What are your values?

I weave wearable art out of Tencel – a eucalyptus-based fiber that is spun in a closed-loop process with a very low environmental impact. That’s important. It’s also important that the fiber is gorgeous – lustrous, brilliant, delightful to weave and to wear. I work on simple straightforward 8-shaft looms – no computers. And when the electricity goes out, as it often does, I can just keep going.

Simple is good. In my textile designs, I aim for compelling rather than complex.

Where are you located?

Maine

What can we find at Blue Feet Studio?

I design and weave fine wearables. For a long time, I had a static website with no commercial capacity, just a note saying “Stop buying online! There is art in your community if you support it – so go find a local artist.” Then came the pandemic, and online is the only way I have to send my work into the world. So now I too have a conventional website. It has helped me join new communities of artists as well as reach new customers. I still encourage people to find their locals, and to explore artists through the communities that support them, however we now create those communities.

Where can we learn more about you?

Website: www.bluefeetstudio.com | Instagram: @amysmithbluefeetstudio