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.
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
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
2021 North Olympic Shuttle & Spindle Guild, "One Fiber Art Journey" lecture
2021 Carolina Fiber Festival - Online
2021 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival - Online
exhibitions, awards & media
2011, 2012, 2013 Merit Awards - SunFest Fine Arts Festival
2012 LaConner Textile Museum - "Victorian Rocker" 1st Place, Fiber Art
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 "Excellence in Fiber" Juried Exhibition in Print, Fiber Art Now Magazine
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" Honorable Mention, 7th International Juried Exhibition, Palos Verdes Art Center, CA
2017 "Spring Juried Exhibit" Jansen Art Center, Lynden, WA
2017 "Treadle Lightly" ANWG Conference, Juried Exhibition & Fashion Show, Victoria, BC, Raven's Cape won 2nd Place Most Innovative and 2nd Place Best Felted Fabric, Stained Glass Shawl won 2nd Place Felted Carded Fibers
2017 Niche Awards Finalist , Curly Lock Boa, Niche Magazine
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 Stained Glass Shawl won 2nd Place Wearable Art, Dragon Skin Dress Coat won 3rd Place Wearable Art
2019 Port Townsend Wearable Art Fashion Show, Dragon Skin Ensemble, Peer Award
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 " Excellence In Fiber V" Award, Fiber Art Now Magazine, Tortoise Cloak, & Exhibition at Muskegon Museum of Art
2019 International Quilt & Fiber Art Show - 1st Place Felt, "PNW Beach"
2019 "A Stitch To Wear" Exhibition, Cumberland, MD
2020 "Kaleidoscope" juried online exhibition, International Felt Makers
2021 Featured in Felt Matters magazine
2021 "The Second Half" juried online exhibition Las Laguna Art Gallery
2021 "Reconnect" juried online exhibition, International Felt Makers
2021 "Texture" exhibition Gainesville Fine Arts Gallery, Best in Show award for Earthquake
2021 "Textures & Patterns" juried online exhibition, Las Laguna Art Gallery
2021 "Open Theme" juried exhibition, Las Laguna Art Gallery