Statement

I explore the themes of memory, life experiences, healing, and continuity in my work. I make art with found objects, artifacts from nature, vintage fabrics and threads, antique and vintage buttons, precious beads *Huacaya Alpaca and Suri Llama hides, papers, leather and paint. The self assertion of making things and visually recording my experiences are physical evidence of my resilience and are a means of overcoming adversity in my life. The practice of repurposing materials honors their origins and the memories they hold for me, and gives them new life. Making art is part of my self care.

The soft feel of crocheted and knit silk cords of the necklaces I create embrace the wearer with warmth on their skin. Linen thread bound pieces of hard coral and shells sewn into alpaca and llama hide collages reference my difficult spine surgeries. I purposely embedded them in a soft and healing framework of alpaca and llama hides. The photo collages of me as a young child strangling myself are part of a narrative depicting my struggle with family abuse.

The linen thread bound shells on strips of paper are a tribute to time spent with my son collecting shells on a South Carolina beach. I discovered my father’s collection of shells and beach debris after his death, and recalled our shared explorations of nature.

*The animals are bred for their sheared hair spun into yarn and their hides only become available when an animal dies of natural causes. Transforming their hides into art is a way of giving them new life and continuity.

Bio

Barbara’s mother’s clothes and the clothes given to her by a great uncle in the fashion industry sparked Barbara’s interest in fashion and textiles. The NYC Ballet and Opera, Leonard Bernstein’s concerts for children, and trips to art museums with her father stimulated her senses and grounded her culturally. Science experiments and observing the natural world with her father fit right in with being a tomboy.

Barbara studied weaving at Haystack Hinckley School of Crafts in Maine and sold her woven wall sculptures on commission to doctors’ offices and admirers, and later sold her handwoven scarves and shawls nationally to Barneys New York, Henri Bendel, and Ultimo in Chicago. Barbara exhibited her weavings in NYC at the The Elements Gallery and at Aaron Faber Gallery during her senior year in college.

She worked as a knit designer in NYC after graduating from college with a studio art major at Brown University and classes at RISD. She made custom couture knits for private clients, drew, and painted while raising her children.

In 2018 Barbara showed her drawings in a group show in Montclair, NJ and showed a Suri Llama sculpture in a group show in Morristown, NJ. Her jewelry was in a group show at Sister the Bar in Albuquerque, NM in 2019. In 2024 Barbara’s necklaces were in The Jewelry Library’s Valentine show.

Barbara lives in Albuquerque, NM and welcomes studio visits.