Producer’s Blog: The Vivid Quiltscapes and Abstracts of Rebecca Barker

I’ve got a confession to make – I am an unabashed, very vocal fan of the art of Rebecca Barker. Our latest guest on The Art Show, Rebecca has a studio space at Pendleton Art Center in downtown Cincinnati. The artist collective – touted as the largest in the world (8 floors?!) – hosts a monthly “Final Friday” open house. Artists open their workspaces and galleries to the public to peruse.

On visits home from college, Final Friday became a tradition for my mother and me. One Christmas, I opened up a small, square package from my mother. It was one of the first pieces of original art I’ve ever been gifted – a shimmering red heart against a background of intersecting, multicolored lines.  After receiving that piece of artwork, I’d often visit Rebecca’s studio “just to look around” and end up lugging a piece of art (or two) through the hilly streets of the Pendleton neighborhood.

As a fan of all things technicolor, Rebecca’s fearless use of sparkles and vivid acrylics has made her one of my favorite local artists. And, in the years since that Christmas, many Barker pieces have ended up under the tree, in the birthday gift stack, or as those signature “just because” gifts moms seem so good at giving. All the pieces I’ve amassed now decorate the walls of my post-college apartment.

I’d never been able to wrap my head around how she executes her distinct brand of painting. Barker abstracts are multilayered pieces. I’m not trying to be poetic here. Shiny tapes, sequins, abstract forms, the occasional nature-inspired motif, and more intermingle under a final, healthy coat of resin. Her work is quite literally three dimensional. I’ll shimmy around the paintings hanging in my apartment and inevitably discover a new detail in a new light.

So, curious to learn more, I asked Rebecca to be part of an upcoming episode of The Art Show. And we got an insightful behind-the-scenes look at both her process (spoiler alert: there’s a blowtorch involved) and her evolution as an artist.

Rebecca makes no secret that she’s been painting since childhood. It pretty much runs in the family – her parents are the minds behind the legendary Barker Ornaments. Growing up, her siblings put finishing touches on these hand-painted ornaments and Rebecca recalls being encouraged by her artistic mother to focus on her own talent. (Side note: when diving into the segment, I had no idea about the ornaments – a little production serendipity for the holiday season and December episode!).

Little did I know that Rebecca’s start was a far cry from the abstract. Drawing inspiration from her mother’s quilt collection, Rebecca came up with an original concept: “Quiltscapes” that blend realist scenes with traditional quilt patterns. Many of these feasts for the eyes (Rebecca estimates she’s created a few hundred) have ended up on puzzles, notecards, and more, and

I’m personally obsessed.

Rebecca admits that she began running out of ideas after over two decades of Quiltscapes. Tapping into a longtime interest in the abstract, she shifted gears. She’s since been churning out abstract pieces that literally sparkle, and I’m equally obsessed, but don’t think that her abstracts are a far cry from her Quiltscape days! Barker’s abstracts sometimes play home to quilt-esque patterns and the realist elements found in her previous brand of work, from birds, to local Cincinnati landmarks.

We also talk more about how past influences present in her work in this segment. As a longtime fan of her paintings, learning about her artistic origins – and then being able to notice these elements in her present work – afforded me plenty of “Aha!” moments as I looked around her Pendleton studio during our interview. In one of her signature birds-eye view map paintings of downtown Cincinnati, she even marked where Pendleton Art Center is located!

Rebecca was also kind enough to allow us to tape her home workspace. While much of her artwork is on display in her Pendleton space, Rebecca’s creative process takes place in her home (there’s plenty of beautiful art on her walls there, too). And the secret to a smooth resin coat? Fire. 

As a producer, I have the opportunity to really hone into the details of everything I encounter during the production process. It could be an interview question that unlocks a certain memory or a camera angle I hadn’t previously considered. And sometimes, when I’m rewatching a previous project, I’ll start picking up on things I didn’t notice in the first go-round (and maybe kick myself a little bit for not seeing it in the first place). 

My favorite art always presents something new, no matter how many times I encounter it. Production can be fast-paced, and life can be busy, but it’s multilayered art – much like Rebecca’s – that reminds me to slow down, take it all in, and consider different ways of seeing things. 

They say staring is rude, but in certain contexts, I beg to differ. In work or play, I say take a pause – and don’t be afraid to switch angles or directions. 

Nadya Ellerhost
CET and Think^TV Producer

Tune in for this episode Saturday, December 13, at 6pm on CET. The episode will also be available to stream for free on the PBS App: https://watch.cetconnect.org/show/art-show/.