a r t i s t  s t a t e m e n t

Since graduating from Bennington College in 1985 as a Visual Arts Major, Barbara Henry has continued to develop her art interests.

In 1993, Barbara began to design and create colorful jewelry in polymer clay. Many of her designs included patterns in beads and tiles.  In 1999, she was inspired by polymer artist, Elise Winters, who developed the "crazed acrylic" techniques of painting metallic acrylic paint on sheets of clay.

Barbara layers shapes and forms of
painted or colored clay onto a colored clay base. She approaches her pieces as if they were abstract paintings, starting with a few colors and goes on from there, not planning, just allowing images to emerge.  Although, she has a strong abstract sensibility, her brooches may have a landscape, galaxy,
or marine references; her beads are more abstract.  She is always surprised by the result and hopes that the viewer will find
her jewelry to have meaning.

Barbara Henry has painted in acrylic on canvas in a a non-respresentational manner, (upper left photo) since 1985. Her approach to painting is similar to her work in polymer clay. She applies color to un-primed canvas in a random way, then builds up the surface with opaque lines and marks and many layers of colored glazes. the resulting images suggest the title. Her paintings vary in scale.

Barbara Henry finds inspiration in nature, an eclectic array of music genres which include classical, jazz, 50's rhythm and blues, and the songs of Patsy Cline.  Artists who have influenced her art include Arthur Dove, Pollock, Kandinsky, Klee; her painting teachers Pat Adams and Philip Wofford,
and ceramic teachers Stanley Rosen and Jane Aebersold.

Barbara is native Philadelphian who has resided in Bennington with her husband,
Jim and their children since 1970.

Contact Barbara
by phone: 802.442.5833