OF THE SPIRIT
PAINTINGS AND MIXED MEDIA SCULPTURES BY BARBARA STEVENS
Showing May 21st - June 20th
Free Admission • Open to the Public • Masks required inside building
Artist Statement:
“My husband and I are very interested in Native American history and, in visiting many museums and ancient sacred sites, I have become fascinated with the beauty of the simple forms and the incredible craftsmanship of the ancient ceramic vessels and with the Ancient Women Artists who lived 1000 years ago and were daughters, wives, mothers, teachers, artists, and friends, just like me. This, along with being raised on a Kansas farm in the fifties, when life was simple and centered around the church and God’s good earth, has influenced the earthy quality of my forms, with them progressing over the years to the simple primitive forms I am making today. I display them on natural found wood to give the impression that, as one is walking along a trail in the woods, a primitive vessel has been discovered.
When my grandchildren were small, we used to paint together all the time. They became the teachers when I discovered the freedom and joy young children have when creating. There is no ‘right or wrong’, just pure joy in the act of creating. From that point on, I have created my mixed media paintings with the freedom of PLAY, experimenting with NO FEAR and creating with a heart full of JOY! I hope that the mixture of colors and textures awaken the spirit of play in your heart and fill it with joy!”
-Barbara Stevens
Artist Autobiography:
“I grew up on a farm near Pawnee Rock in Central Kansas. After getting my BA, main interest ceramic sculpture, at FHSU in 1971, I taught art to students 4 - 90 years old for over 40 years. I received my MLS in 2005 from FHSU. After being Head of the Art Department at Cloud County Community College for thirteen years, I ended my teaching career in 2013. I was facilitator for the Whole Wall Project, the largest carved brick relief sculpture in the US, in Concordia for five years, which allowed me to develop the only accredited Carved Brick Relief program in the US. I had three articles published in the Ceramics Monthly magazine in 2013 and 2014 and have had articles included in two American Ceramic Society books, the most recent, Tips, Tools & Techniques Dec., 2017. I was featured as New Member in the fall, 2018 newsletter for the national Society of Layerists in Multi-Media (SLMM). I also have two pieces included in the ‘Who Is God?’ book published in the fall of 2020 featuring 21 artists showing work that expresses their spirituality and perception of God.
After retirement in 2013, I have been working on my art full time. Since 2014, I have been in 10-15 shows a year including a solo show of 173 new pieces at the Deines Cultural Center in Russell, KS.; the Sandzen’s Holiday Shows, Lindsborg, KS; featured ceramic artist at the Shafer Gallery on Barton Community College, Great Bend, KS; Hays Arts Center, Hays, KS, Hutchinson Art Center, Hutchinson, KS, Ellsworth Art Center Ellsworth, KS; Museum Contempo, Shelton, WA—National SLMM juried exhibit and then represented by this gallery from October, 2018 through January, 2020; St. Louis, MO National SLMM juried exhibit; and featured artist at the Museum Contempo, Shelton, WA at their national installation exhibition. There I gave a 20 minute performance/presentation on my installation ‘Sacred Circle—God’s Path’ on April 6, 2019.”