Patti Barker
About
Early fascination with fabric and fashion came from my seamstress mother. You might say fiber art is bound into my DNA. My felting journey began with a study of skin. Skin as a protective covering, and as identifier, and how it can record history. A study of animal skin, and human skin; leading to hybrids. All the while, intrigued with the way wearable art transforms its wearer. My creative focus is on wearable art for the stage, while sharing the joy of felt making through teaching. Surface design inspiration rises from exploring rich color and texture combinations. Nuno felt, hand-dyeing, needle felting, bead embroidery...all compliment the tactile and visual narratives of each piece of my wearable art.
Felt making stole my heart in 2008 and the intrigue is still going strong. I began teaching groups at the Southeast Animal Fiber Fair in Asheville, NC in 2010. Later that year I moved to the Pacific Northwest and began teaching at the BlackSheep Gathering, Fiber Fusion and private classes in my studio on San Juan Island. More recently, I taught at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival in 2019 and was chosen as the "travelling teacher" in the state of Arizona February 2020. As the travelling teacher, I taught eight felting classes in six cities over three weeks.
My teaching style has changed. In person the lessons were easier to monitor and I was able to make sure each and every student had a successful outcome. Converting lessons to online has presented new challenges. While the online lessons can be more detailed and all-encompassing, each person creates the lessons in their own environment without physical monitoring, so they tend to have all kinds of experiences. Some people need to make mistakes to learn lessons (myself included), so the outcome is not necessarily a bad experience, but can seem more challenging.
I'm an award-winning felt wear designer, and a felting teacher. I earned a BA degree in studio art with a concentration in fiber at Western Washington University. Affiliations include my local textile guild, San Juan County Textile Guild, as well as the International Feltmakers Association, for which I am a volunteer representative in the Pacific Northwest. I live on San Juan Island, in Washington State with my husband, Rex, and our dog, Buddy Barker.
My teaching method ranges from specific project courses to teaching multiple techniques. Projects range from nuno felting clothing to 3-D projects like hats and round felted baskets. The technique courses are very popular and include making a variety of samplers to learn multiple techniques in one class. So far, techniques include textural surface design, working with resists and the magic of pre-felts. I'm working on a couple of new offerings, including working with recycled fabrics and another of color theory in fiber art.