Helena Axelrod
Helena Axelrod is an award winning New Jersey artist who has returned to her early love of art after a career in Biotechnology. She makes and sells monotype and mixed media paintings as well as beaded jewelry. She has taught jewelry making techniques at the Adult School of Chatham in Madison and at public schools. She exhibits her paper and jewelry work at a variety of public spaces and at art and craft fairs. Helena has also produced commissioned paintings and jewelry. Each of her works is unique and is available from her website.
Helena uses print and collage techniques to explore color, space, texture and form on a two dimensional surface. Using the technique of monotype she can combine painting, printing, collage and even photography. She was drawn to using printing techniques because, like music, they emphasize theme and variation. Her monotype works are generally created in a series, so that each image is made in several styles, color schemes and a range of textures. The series approach allows her to explore the richness of each visual theme, by seeing the effect of many variations. However, each monotype painting is unique.
The jewelry she designs express her early love of beaded works, especially those using glass beads. The beaded jewelry designs are sculptural; using wire and beads to create three- dimensional art works that appear to have a life of their own. More recently, Helena has been experimenting with designing jewelry from hand-made paper and ribbons; producing shapes that take advantage of the unique properties of each medium.
Helena has been creating art ever since she could hold a colored pencil. Her formal art training was at the Brooklyn Museum, the High School of Music and Art, and the Pratt Institute in New York City. She had studied with Jessica Lenard, an established painter and print maker, and Hollie Heller, a collage and mixed media artist, at the Visual Arts Center of NJ. Helena’s work has been exhibited at a number of venues in New Jersey, such as the Visual Arts Center Member’s Exhibitions, local libraries and public exhibition spaces. She has also been selected for a number of juried shows, including the Gaelen Art Show in Whippanny, NJ and “Art at the Oval” in Livingston, NJ. Helena has won awards for her monotype work, most notably the Emereti Award at the Center for Visual Arts. The Emereti Award is presented by the emeritus directors of the art center to the best in the show. Her works have been acquired for private collections in several states.
