Meet Nancy Helmsworth

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nancy Helmsworth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Nancy, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Purpose is so important for all of us humans, as a stabilizing structure and to connect with meaningful efforts.

After I retired from being a public school Art teacher, a job that provided hour by hour opportunities to connect with purpose and a chance to have a positive influence on students, I had a void in my life.
Universal advice on retirement is, “don’t freak out, give yourself time,” and that is what I did.

From my early adult life on, I maintained an art practice, not huge as I had a family to care for and support. Knowing that Art was my “best friend,” gave me a great place to begin my new phase of life, aka retirement.

I asked myself – what am I drawn to as imagery. Like many folks I was spending more and more time out in nature, especially during covid, so I turned to nature as my imagery, the subject of my work. I first was drawn to the nurse logs of the Pacific Northwest forest. They were the perfect metaphor of seeding life and the future, when their/my? primary living phase is done. I live near a famous urban forest – Forest Park in Portland, so experiencing that form of nature was quite accessible.

From there I expanded to a visual focus of a creek within the park. That led me down a very deep art path, that I am continuing to work on today.
As an art student I was inspired by the late Jennifer Bartlett who combined figurative work and integrated the gird organizing system. I was intrigued by how during an artist residency in France – she painted, made images of the same location over and over again – each one unique. She learned the place and investigated it.

What if I did that with the creek in Forest Park? I have the time and access. I love water (as all life long swimmers do), but love the universality of a creek. Running water in a stream, sounds the same no matter the location in the world.
So I decided to paint the creek, Balch Creek.
On top of that I decided I had better learn about this creek, the biology, the geology, the history of why is named Balch Creek. I had no idea what I was going to find…and it was a lot!

Come to find out that a small portion of this creek runs through the Donation Land Claim plot, given to Danford Balch in the 1850’s as the federal effort to “settle” Oregon and reap the tax revenue of this rich land in the Willamette Valley. Of course this is the decade or so after the Native American people were corralled and moved to various reservations. Yes the Willamette Valley has been a resource abundant area for populations for millennia, BEFORE the settlers, colonists arrived; so many Native people called this state their home.

Finding out the history of which tribal groups used the area of Balch Creek was tough, as Portland has done little to resurface the history of the original peoples. But with some research we (my husband helped) found that the Clackamas, Multnomah and Lower Chinook tribes lived in the lower part of the creek in the park. Up at the top of the ridge that feeds the creek, lived the Atfalati and Tualatin Indians. To complicate matters – these tribes were split into 3 different reservations. Also many tribes came through this area as it was known for good hunting and berry gathering, and on their way to a major trading center, twenty-five miles away on Sauvies Island.

There is more.
Danford Balch, was not a model citizen to say the least; he was the first white man to be tried and convicted of premeditated murder and executed in the new state of Oregon in 1859. How did he go from receiving free land in NW Portland, to being a murderer in 7-8 years? The simple story is that he disapproved of his step daughter’s elopement, and in a drunken state, with a loaded double barreled shotgun, laid in wait for them to return from their honeymoon. They predictably disembarked from the downtown ferry and he shot his new son-in-law, Mortimer Stump – directly in the face, killing him instantly in front an audience of bystanders.

So – this creek is in a beloved park, enjoyed by thousands of visitors/week, adjacent to the Bird Alliance of Oregon (formerly Audubon property), I decided to begin an effort to have the creek renamed.

That effort put me in touch with today’s ancestors of the original Native Americans, The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians and the Chinook Indian Nation. I asked them if there was a historic name for the creek, they answered -no. I asked David Harrelson the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the CT Grand Ronde, if he had any suggested names. As a non-Native person, I wanted some tribal suggestions. He put forward “kulla kulla” which means “bird” in the chinuk-wawa trading language, used by many tribes in the Pacific Northwest. kulla kulla (no capitals as per the language) would refer to and honor the Bird Alliance of Oregon, through which the creek runs, plus the 112 sighted species of birds within Forest Park.

I am now working with the Oregon Geographic Names Board on the final proposal to have the creek renamed. I have put on two art shows, given talks at each and incrementally follow each “next step” to get the word out to the public and gather support. Though, some people do not like change, so this isn’t a slam dunk. But learning about the colonization history of this specific place has informed my approach to my painting series and led to me create new imagery, and to find new elements of iconography, that broaden and enriches my options in approaching my work. I have more interesting ideas to work with and I am excited as I more forward.

I know this is long – BUT
I took my first step and then just followed my curiosity using my public service attitude (of most public school teachers) that is – if you see something that is not right, or fair or needs fixing….do something about it.
“Be the change you want to see.”

At the end of my life, succeed or not….I will know I tried and that will give me satisfaction.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a member of an artist cooperative gallery – Gallery 114, which has been an intentional opportunity. Having other artists to bounce ideas off of and a physical place to show my work on a regular basis, helps eliminate the stress of not knowing how to share my efforts. Of course I use other exhibit opportunities as well.

The learning and advocacy I have done with my Balch Creek/kulla kulla creek project has been so engaging – but very similar to my work as an art educator.
My teaching, (most art educators write their own curriculum), was energized by introducing art concepts related to social change or representing other viewpoints, and asking students to put themselves in these people’s shoes. I was hoping to teach art and open minds. Years of this work shaped my thinking.

Now this renaming effort qualifies as a “social practice” art piece – some of my same efforts of drawing attention to a topic that affects many people.

In the fall of 2022, I had an exhibit at the Lower Columbia Community College, Rose Center for the Arts, in which I focused on the problem wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. To me it seemed that the leaders at the federal level, did not seem to understand “What the forest means to me, and you.” In the PNW, people love the woods, as well as many have it as a history of their family livelihood. The forest is special. So as part of the show, folks had a space to interact and respond by writing and posting (on physical paper) comments to share what the forest means to them. There was also a chair to sit and supplies provided to write postcards to their various elected officials to let them know these stories and the importance of funding forest management efforts, which is usually federal money.

So…looks like I am drawn to a “cause” when I do my art – though in the short and long run…I love to paint and make stuff.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I come from a family with a strong work ethic, but a family that was quite broken. That led me to escape into the basement to make things, things I saw in magazines or other workbench inventions. I would save my allowance and walk to the hardware store to buy the supplies I needed, then disappear downstairs to figure out how to make what I wanted to create. It was my happy place.

Because this was a solitary effort – it was also empowering, as at a young age, I realized, if I want to do something, I had better make it happen myself… and I could.

I consider that a gift that is foundational to my sense of self. Self-reliance is the word and also I had a comfort working alone and without much feedback or an audience.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams

I should read it again, but what I came away with is – Life is short, if you want to do something, do it. Don’t wait for an invitation, follow your desire to participate. As a woman of a certain generation or upbringing, stepping forward used to be something I thought twice about. After this book, not so much.

The Curve of Time, by M. Wylie Blanchet

A book about an adventurous woman, recently widowed who wanted to sail along the inter-coastal waters off British Columbia. She kind of grabbed her children and went, even though she had to learn as she sailed.
I was inspired by her “if not now, when” attitude of if you want to do it…do it. Again – life is limited.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nancyhelmsworth.blogspot.com/
• Instagram: nhelmsworth
• Linkedin: not active

Image Credits

Dan Kvitka photographer