Bev Barnett

Artist Statement

My artistic voice has traveled a twisted road to arrive at this moment: I’m a fiber artist with an insatiable curiosity that drives my work in handmade paper, pulp casting and weaving.

My mother taught me the magic of turning pulp into paper, and the satisfaction of breaking with tradition. I’ve wandered through clay, fiber, natural dyes, and structural basketry, while my parallel path as a singer-songwriter has always informed the rhythm and poetry of my work.

The wall sculpture and collage art I create is a conversation between these disciplines. I begin by developing base materials using plant fiber, paper pulp, natural dyes, found objects, upcycled silk and other fibers. Then, I co-create with what I’ve formed, found and foraged.

Mine is a process of patient discovery. Like the meaningful relationships I nurture in my life, I choose elements and materials that I want to spend time with - and learn from. I invite them to reflect my thoughts, I encourage them to guide the composition and I excitedly anticipate their revelation of meaningful narratives centering on resilience, joy and becoming.

By using natural, upcycled and unexpected materials, I hope to encourage viewers to rethink their assumptions and expectations. Each piece is reborn into a quiet, textured meditation that sparks wonder, invites contemplation and reveals the transformative strength found in stillness.