to leave if she continued painting figuratively. An interest in calligraphy and earlier participation in the school paper and yearbooks in high school inspired Nezhnie to shift majors to graphic design. She excelled in the print format, acquiring skills and a perspective that influenced both subject matter and her stylistic approach throughout her weaving career. She married fellow art student, Sheldon Helfman, in 1954. After her graduation in 1955, she joined him in Germany where he was stationed in the U.S. Army. Perceiving that her opportunity to paint while her husband, who was equally passionate about painting, had to spend his time on duty was putting stress on their marriage, she began looking for other creative outlets. Nezhnie discovered tapestry was still a viable contemporary art form on a trip to Paris. Quite convinced that she could weave better examples than those she observed that day, she enrolled at a craft school, Offenbach Werkkunstschule, in the Frankfurt suburb of Offenbach am Main. Even though she did not speak German, nor her instructors speak English, this was her only formal training in weaving. Early artwork After Helfman's tour of duty, they moved to New Haven, CT, where he received a Master of Fine Arts degree at Yale University and their two children, Ilisha and Jonathan were born. The family moved to St. Louis Missouri in 1960. The consequence of limited communication with her instructors in Germany became apparent as Nezhnie had to struggle through the technicalities of setting up the loom and learning what materials would work best. However, she quickly began producing tapestries. By 1963, she completed a woven commission for a local Children's Hospital and in 1967, completed her first large commission, Genesis, 132" x 84". She also wove at least 16 freeform or non-rectilinear tapestries by the decade's end. Some were termed "the little people", measuring under 24" in the largest dimension and typically were only rectilinear at the base. Many appeared quite "primitive". In general, they were woven on two-colored warps. Originally used to help her thread the loom, two-colored warps became a signature feature of her weavings. Another group, primarily woven in 1968–69, consisted of large bold female figures whose arms and torso are circular in form suspended on curved armatures. By comparison, commissions for private clients woven during this period were surprisingly formal in design with intricately woven detail and complex imagery. Odyssey 60" x