Barbara Curry

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Barbara Curry - Biography

BARBARA CURRY; UNITY TREE ARTS

Journey of a Creative Nomad Through Visual Metaphors

Each of my paintings has a personal story behind it; a purpose for its creation. As a body of work, they’re snapshots of particular places and time with a common thread of meaning.

Each subject I explore serves as a visual metaphor to contemplate life’s journey, with its twists, turns, intersections and mystery of where it might lead. While painting water, I've questioned what the continual movement of ocean waves, each distinct but interconnected, tell us about our common humanity and the interconnectedness of an evolving world civilization?

I often write about my work. Click on any painting and the "More info" link and sign up for my newsletter to follow along, as my story unfolds.

My professional background began with drafting, graphic design and illustration, after graduating from Ferris State University with a degree in Commercial Art, but in 1984 I quit my full-time job to freelance and balance family life with my love of art. With strong drawing skills and a technical background, I enrolled in art classes at University of North Texas; College of Visual Arts & Design. To further develop my creativity, I started taking workshops in a variety of mediums with nationally and internationally recognized artists who emphasized good design, color theory, experimentation, and working directly from life. Those solid foundations quickly led me to exhibit and sell my work through galleries, outdoor arts festivals, and enter competitions.

I began volunteer service on the board of Southwestern Watercolor Society in Dallas, TX as editor of Scene magazine. 

After a move to Pittsburgh, PA, I continued to paint, became more involved in regional arts organizations, and taught classes and workshops for children and adults through a community arts agency and local art league. It wasn’t until I was asked to teach a pastel class for children in 2000 that I discovered the joy of pastels!  For the next ten years I worked exclusively in pastels, painting the Pennsylvania countryside, flowers grown in my garden, pet portraits, and figurative work.

 During this period, I consistently entered and received awards and recognition for my pastels and sold my work through several art galleries. My watercolor titled, “Fountain of Living Waters” received the Peace Award in the South Arts Visions of Peace exhibit at Duquesne University. Another watercolor, “Shades of Taos” was published in Best of America; Watercolor Artists & Artisans, Volume 1 (Kennedy Publishing, 2007), and “Glad Tidings” received a Sanford Grumbacher Gold Medallion award. My pastel work was published in Best of Pennsylvania Artists & Artisans 2005.

After moving to South Carolina in 2010, I renovated and opened an art studio on the third floor of the Center for The Arts in downtown Rock Hill.  I attended graduate school at Winthrop University for Arts Administration and took numerous workshops at the McColl Center for Arts and Innovation and The Arts and Science Council in neighboring Charlotte, NC. Over the next several years I explored and experimented with a wide variety of mediums including encaustics, chine collé, wood block prints, acrylics, and collage.

 After the BP oil spill in 2010, I concentrated on an “Ocean” series of mixed media work that integrated environmental activism, spirituality, and the local textile industry history. In 2012 I received a grant from the Arts Council of York County to create two 5 ft x 7 ft installations, commissioned by Carolinas Healthcare System (now Atrium Health) for their Area Health Education Center. In 2016, the Fine Art at Baxter’s Gallery in New Bern, NC hosted my "Ocean" series in a one-woman show. That same year, I worked with an architect and contractor on the design of our new house and settled into my new home studio in 2017.

During the 2020 pandemic's isolation period, I switched to oil painting as my primary medium. Then in the spring of 2023, I began painting plein air with a focus on the unique characteristics that distinguish the north midlands region of South Carolina. In the fall 2023 I trained to get certified as a Creativity Coach and in December was juried into the 2024 ArtPop Street Gallery Cities Program. My goals are to keep learning, paint what's meaningful to me, continue metaphorical explorations of life's big questions, and be of service to others along the way who are navigating their own creative journeys. 

“It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.”  

-Roy T. Bennett, author

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