bio
patti barker
felt wear designer/instructor
Patti is an award-winning felt wear designer and enjoys teaching others the wonders of felt making.
Artist's Statement:
From the very beginning of my nuno felt experience, the process of transforming wisps of wool and silk into felted cloth with a little soapy water, has struck me as magical. It's that magical process, with its playful nature and subtle shifts, that leads to experimentation. My designs come from many hours of saying "what happens if..." I'm also intrigued with the way a garment can change the emotions of it's wearer.
Original designs are produced with felted seams (no sewing). The fabric and the garment are created simultaneously, using wet felting techniques. I hand-dye elements used, hand-spin embellishing art yarns and stitch bead embroidery to enhance the narrative of each piece of wearable art.
Much of my work surrounds female empowerment. It's a thread connecting decades of my life that needs pulling. I've watched generations of women take a step back for every two steps forward.
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biography of instruction
2012, 2013 - Southeast Animal Fiber Fair, Asheville, NC
2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, Black Sheep Gathering, Eugene, OR
2018 Fiber Fusion, Marysville, WA
2018 "Women's Gathering" Anita Luvera Mayer Retreat
2019 Bisbee Fiber Arts Guild, Bisbee, AZ
2019 Sedona Arts Center, Sedona, AZ
2019 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival,
West Friendship, MD
2019 Copper K Fiber Festival, Whitehall, MT
2019 Fiber Fusion Northwest, Marysville, WA
2020 Arizona Arts Federation "Traveling Teacher" eight workshops/six cities/three weeks (February)
2021 North Olympic Shuttle & Spindle Guild, "One Fiber Art Journey" lecture - virtual
2021 Carolina Fiber Festival - virtual
2021 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival - virtual
2022 Warehouse Arts District, St. Petersburg, FL
2022 Carolina Fiber Festival, Raleigh, NC
2022 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, Friendship, MD
2022 Blacksheep Gathering, Albany, OR
2022 Video Production @ Living Felt, Austin, TX
2022 Clifton Forge School of the Arts - Clifton Forge, VA
2023 Carolina Fiber Fest, Raleigh, NC
2023 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, Friendship, MD
2023 Flag Wool & Fiber Festival, Flagstaff, AZ
2023 Black Sheep Gathering, Albany, OR
exhibitions, awards & media
2011, 2012, 2013 Merit Awards - SunFest Fine Arts Festival
2012 LaConner Textile Museum 1st Place Fiber Art, Victorian Rocker
2012 Winter is the King of Showmen Juried Exhibition, San Juan Island Museum of Art
2013 Crossing Borders, Crossing Threads Juried Exhibition & Fashion Show - ANWG Conference, Bellingham, WA
2013 Echos of the Tides Juried Exhibition, San Juan Island Museum of Art
2014 Best of IMA's Artist Registry Juried Exhibition - SJI Museum of Art
2015 Torn, Tattered & Sepia Juried Exhibition - SJI Museum of Art
2016 Forms In Fiber Exhibition - Western Washington University
2016 Dream Sequence window display, Ragfinery, Bellingham, WA
2016 Studio Open House, Residency at VCCA France, La Cebo au Moulin a Nef, Auvillar
2016 Fiber Art Now Magazine Juried Exhibition Excellence in Fiber award
2016 Spirits Taking Form Juried Exhibition - SJI Museum of Art
2016 Mediating Dreams Solo Exhibition, Fiber Art Studio, SJI
2017 Figure & Symbol Exhibition - Western Washington University
2017 Wearable Expressions 7th International Juried Exhibition, Palos Verdes Art Center, CA - Honorable Mention, Mosaic Cloak
2017 Spring Juried Exhibit Jansen Art Center, Lynden, WA
2017 Treadle Lightly ANWG Conference, Juried Exhibition & Fashion Show, Victoria, BC, 2nd Place Most Innovative for Raven's Cape and 2nd Place Best Felted Fabric for Stained Glass Shawl
2017 Niche Magazine, Niche Awards Finalist , Curly Lock Boa
2017 Coded Threads: Textiles & Technology Western Gallery, Bellingham, WA
2017 Elegant Threads: Wearable Art & Surface Design, Lighthouse ArtCenter Palm Beach, FL
2018 Connecting Threads, Confluence Gallery, Twisp, WA
2018 21st Juried Art Show, Schack Art Center, Everett, WA
2018 Art Over The Harbor Exhibition, Friday Harbor, WA
2018 Pop Up Show Bainbridge Island Museum of Art
2018 PNW Quilt & Fiber Festival Exhibition, Everett, WA 2nd Place Wearable Art for Stained Glass Shawl, and 3rd Place Wearable Art for Dragon Skin Dress Coat
2019 Port Townsend Wearable Art Fashion Show, Peer Award Dragon Skin Ensemble
2019 From our Hands Exhibition PNW Textile Museum, LaConner, WA
2019 SJI Studio Tour, guest artist @ Jason Munkres Weaving Studio
2019 ManneqArt Wearable Art Show, Savage, MD 1st Place Amphibian Category, Dragon Skin Ensemble
2019 19th Art Wear Biennial, Ft. Collins, CO Excellence in Technique Award, Dragon Skin Dress Coat
2019 Art Over the Harbor Exhibition of new work
2019 Fiber Art Now Magazine, Excellence In Fiber V Award, Tortoise Cloak, & Exhibition at Muskegon Museum of Art
2019 International Quilt & Fiber Art Show - 1st Place Felt, PNW Beach wall art
2019 A Stitch To Wear Exhibition, Cumberland, MD
2020 Kaleidoscope juried online exhibition, International Felt Makers
2021 Featured Artist in Felt Matters magazine Issue 143
2021 The Second Half juried online exhibition Las Laguna Art Gallery
2021 Reconnect juried online exhibition, International Felt Makers
2021 Texture exhibition, GFAA Gallery Best In Show Earthquake
2021 Textures & Patterns juried online exhibition, Las Laguna Art Gallery
2021 Open Theme juried online exhibition, Las Laguna Art Gallery
2021 Uncommon Threads Fashion Show, St. Charles, IL
2022 Valdosta National @ Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery, Tsunami
2022 ArtFields, South Carolina, Climate Sisters
2022 Mythologies exhibition GFAA Gallery, Merit Award Dragonskin Ensemble
2022 Felt Maters Magazine "Unique Felting Tools" by Patti Barker
2022 International Quilt & Fiber Festival, 1st Place Fiber Art - Felt Whisper of Birches Swing Coat & 3rd Place - Wearable Art Garment Road Less Traveled Jacket
2022 20th Annual Biennial Art Wear, Ft. Collins, CO Excellence In Creativity Stained Glass Duster and Honorable Mention Dream Sequence II
2022 Uncommon Threads Fashion Show St Charles, IL Best of Show Wildfire
2022 SCORE Uncommon Threads virtual exhibit, B&W jacket
2022 Felt Matters Magazine "Ant Queen Wearable Art Exhibition" Issue #149
2023 The Art of Adornment, The Hub on Canal, New Smyrna Beach, Fl Nuno Collage Jacket
2023 Fibers of Nature, Floyd Arts Center, Floyd ,Virginia
2023 Figures & Faces, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Dream Sequence
2023 Women in Art, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Mosaic Bolero
2023 Face of Fiber in the Rockies, Invitational Juried Exhibit