Artist Profile: Barb Forrister

Barb Forrister

Austin, Texas

http://www.barbforrister.com/

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words: Painterly, Dimensional, Colorful, Nature Inspired. 

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it? I love working in Mixed Media because there are so many options to accomplish what I mean to convey! The possibilities are endless.

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world? I have been invited as a guest artist on a new and upcoming book on fusibles. I also have been working with a new production team here in Austin called Fiddler on the Roof where my work will be featured as part of the set design. How exciting is that? 

4.  Do you have any studio rituals? Not really, I like to be free to design and create so it depends what is happening at the moment.

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey? Some of my favorite artists include Patricia Gould, Betty Busby, Ginny Eckley, Pamela Allen and David Taylor. 

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without? Wow, only five? Ok, here goes: fabric, paint/brushes, thread, scissors and my sewing machine.

7.  What is on your design table right now? Right now, I am finishing up a group collaboration with 7 artists including Sherri McCauley, Martha Tsihlas, Kathy York, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Connie Conley Hudson, Frances Holliday Alford and myself. This piece is a bold, graphic, black and white, modern quilt with very subtle traces of chartreuse and cobalt blue. It is the first time that we have ever created anything like this and I am so jazzed about the way it has turned out. 

 

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?  I am pretty flexible but I like to keep a schedule so that I am focused on tasks. I work in the studio on weekdays. Evenings and weekends are free for family and friends unless I am under the gun with a deadline! I also teach Surface Design and Mixed Media Art Cloth on Tuesday evenings at the Dougherty Art Center in Austin, Texas. 

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)? Not really but my family and our dog pop in every now and then to see what is going on.  

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections? The format (24X60) is always hard in terms of what looks good in that size but this time around, I had a difficult time with the theme. I kept vacillating on whether to be literal with actual reflections or conceptual. In the end, I opted for conceptual!