Spotlight On: Layne Goldsmith Studio
Snohomish, Washington
Hardly a newcomer to the world of art and design, Layne Goldsmith of Layne Goldsmith Studio had a distinguished career as a textile artist and professor in the School of Art at the University of Washington. When she considered working in the rug industry, it was a given that there be absolutely no child labor involved. She visited many factories in Nepal and ended up choosing those with GoodWeave affiliations. "I've always favored situations that provide equally to all concerned, and I support GoodWeave because it does just that."
Layne, who lives and works in Washington, says her decision to make rugs came about a little more than a decade ago, when she was looking for rugs for her newly refinished floors and couldn't find exactly what she wanted. She started thinking about designing the rugs for her home, and in the process studied the Tibetan rug weaving tradition. "I especially like the way these rugs show the hand of the weavers," she explains. "You can tell by the striations in a rug where one weaver stops and the next begins."
That attention to detail informs Layne's own work. Trained in textiles since the 1960s and having had her own weaving studio, she knows textile structures even at the fiber level. "My understanding of weave structure informs my designs," she explains.
Layne likes designs that celebrate the nature of the materials. Fascinated by color, she incorporates natural dyes into her work. "I'm from California," she says, "where color played an important part in how I see things." She has developed a natural dye palette that reflects both her California roots and her many hours spent on and around the water. Other artistic influences include historic and ethnographic textiles. For example, she is interested in the way elements from Baroque textiles can be interpreted for 21st-century interiors.
Layne shares her knowledge of textiles with her students at the University of Washington, and she seems most proud of a course she designed that has given them the opportunity to work directly with clients to create custom rugs. Layne locates sponsors in the community interested in having custom rugs and in working with the students. Then students design the rugs in collaboration with their clients. The rugs are made in Nepal using only GoodWeave licensed factories. Goldsmith is teaching both art and social justice.
To learn more, contact hello@laynegoldsmith.com or visit www.laynegoldsmith.com.
