Can you give us a little info on your background?

I was born and raised in St. Martin, a small French/Dutch island in the Caribbean. I moved to Savannah, Georgia for college, where I studied traditional and computer art, animation, and sculpture. After graduating, life brought me to California in 2009, where I’ve been ever since.


Where do you get inspiration?

I’m highly influenced by nature, all the colors and wildlife of this planet, and humans.

How was your childhood room decorated?

My room had pale yellow walls, and the curtains and sheets were bright colorful patterns. Any art on the walls was either mine or from family and friends.


How did art influence your childhood?

I come from a family of artists, so art was always around me and something fun and exciting to do/learn.


Who is your favorite childhood character?

I loved the characters in Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl books (Matilda!). The first movie I ever saw in theaters was ‘An American Tail’, and Fievel Mousekewitz will always be a special character to me. Another Don Bluth animation, ‘The Secret of NIMH, had many memorable mice, Mrs. Brisby, the crow, and the Great Owl.


What does your studio look like?

My studio is a work in progress, built from a modified shipping container with lots of windows and light. It’s a small cozy space filled with plants, pigments, paintings, prints, pyrography supplies and potential (and probably a dog under my desk).

 


What is your creative process?

That’s a good question!


Where can we find other pieces of your artwork?

www.fayhelfer.com for prints, originals, and gallery updates.


What art projects do you do with your children?

I don’t have children, though as a child my mother and I would read a lot of bedtime stories, and my favorite was when we would start with a blank book and make up the story every night. She would illustrate scenes and characters and I would color them in.


Do you have any exciting projects coming up that you want to share with us?

Many years after writing and illustrating childhood bedtime stories with my mom, she has been writing short poems for these animal illustrations. We’ve since begun and dream of finishing them into a children’s book!